Living lowcarb (days 14,15,16, & 17!)

Oh my! I have not blogged in a while. Oooops! It's so much harder to keep track of things when I am away from home. 

We got home last night around 2:30am. When I got up this morning I climbed on the ol' dreaded scales. I was so worried about the damage done while we were away. Thankfully I had only gained 2lbs. I hate that I gained any, but I'm thankful it was only 2, and not 5. 

Rather than posting about all the things I've eaten today, I'm going to post my new grilled salmon recipe. I hope y'all will try it. It's truly delicious! 

What you need:

Salmon filets 

Fresh spinach

Lemon (sliced)

Lemon pepper

Paprika

Basil flakes

Reynolds wrap

Thaw your selected amount of salmon fillets (if frozen.)

Heat your grill to high or medium high. 

Tear off one square foot of Reynolds wrap for each piece of fish. 

Add one handful of fresh spinach to the middle of your Reynolds wrap square.

 

Lay your thawed piece of salmon on top of the spinach mound. Sprinkle lemon pepper, paprika, and basil flakes on the fish to suit your own taste. 

Add two slices of lemon 

Bring the Reynolds wrap sides up to form a boat and roll together. 

Place foil packs on the grill. 

Grill for 15 min or until salmon flakes when touched with a fork. 

Pair with your choice of sides and enjoy! 

I think if you will try it, you will enjoy it as much as we did! 

I also have a fresh pitcher of cold brew seeping in the fridge tonight, and a fresh pitcher of orange infused water. I think tomorrow will be a great day!  :) 

Lacey

Cold brew coffee!

Ahhhhh there's nothing like that first sip of coffee that runs all the way down to your toes. I love coffee in any form. It can be hot, iced, blended, steamed, pressed, or even chocolate covered. Yes! I really did just say chocolate covered. Chocolate covered coffee beans are delicious! There's also coffee flavored chocolate you can buy that contain the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. I do love the chocolate, but nothing takes the place of my cup of coffee. 

I have posted for awhile about me starting my day off with cold brew. I learnt about cold brew from the pioneer woman. Once I made it for myself I was in love. I have always made iced coffee with brewed coffee and you either have to let it cool all the way down or you will have a very weak drink due to the ice melting. This method allows the coffee grounds to soak in cold water over night and release all the good qualities into the water. When finished, you have a full blast cold coffee that's made just for ice. Let's begin. 

Step 1: 

Buy a good quality *single origin ground coffee or whole bean if you prefer to grind the beans yourself. I buy mine from Aldi's. It's a fair trade single origin medium coffee that taste amazing! 

Step 2:

Measure out 2 cups and pour into a 1 gallon pitcher. 

Step 3:

Pour filtered water into the gallon pitcher until full. 

Step 4: 

Stir until well blended and all grounds are soaked well. 

Step 5:

Cover and place the pitcher in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, but it's even better if soaked overnight.

Step 6:

The next morning strain the freshly soaked coffee grounds using a fine mesh strainer and/or cheesecloth. I used a large bowl to catch my fresh cold brew coffee. 

Step 7:

Once your cold brew is completely strained, discard the grinds, rinse out the pitcher, and pour your fresh cold brew back into the pitcher. 

Step 8:

You now have a pitcher full of perfectly extracted cold brew to enjoy. Pour over ice, add cream, and enjoy! 

Look at that perfect iced coffee. Feel free to add your syrups, flavors, and creamers  to suit your own taste. :) 

Hope y'all will soon enjoy cold brew as much as I do. 

*single origin coffee is a premier coffee, coming from a single place, whether that be one farmer or a group of farms. Rather than a blend of coffees from various countries, it is all from the same region. You can taste the different flavors of coffees from different countries when you buy single origin. 

Lacey

Living lowcarb (day 4!)

WooWho! It's the weekend! I absolutely love weekends! I used to love them because it meant cheat days and lots of chocolate desert goodies. I now love the weekend because my wonderful hubby is home with me all day. I also get to take a break from spoiling myself and allow him to take over. It works out wonderfully! ;) 

This morning was no exception to any other morning this week. I started out with my leftover egg frittatas. They were still just as yummy after being warmed up as they were fresh out of the oven. 

I almost kinda skipped lunch. I wasn't feeling very hungry, but I also knew I needed to fuel up for our workout. I decided to have an avocado and a string cheese. It was perfect for my pre-workout fuel. 

Since my back is still just a little sore I decided to skip all weights and just focus on cardio. I did 2 miles on the treadmill. I actually jogged 1/2 of a mile. I was pretty proud of myself. My face turned bright red and my blood vessels look as if they might pop out of my neck at any given second, but I was proud! Onlookers were gathered around with their phones out, video player on, and just waiting for the epic collapse they knew was going take place. I really hate I disappointed them this time. With my eyes swimming in a pool of salty water I raised my hand and pointed my pointer finger to the heavens, (like all the professional sports athletes do,) and ran out of the facility like a true star! :) Once I was out of camera view I collapsed. I mean really collapsed! Whew! I am so glad I got that over and done. 

My mamaw Opal loves nothing more than what she calls a "Fannie farkle." Fannie farkle is actually the name of the place, not what she orders, but I'll never tell her that. ;) Her "Fannie farkle" consist of a griddle cooked polish sausages, green peppers, and onions on a hoagie bun. Tonight I made a healthy version of her favorite dish. I found chicken sausages at Aldi's grocery store and they even had spinach in them. Double score!!! I cooked up the sausages, green peppers, onion, and tomatoes. I spiced the ingredients up with crushed red pepper, garlic, and paprika. The dish smelled heavenly as it simmered on the stove. After devouring every last drop Chris proclaimed this dish a keeper. :) 

My two aunts, Sharon and Carol, have decided they wished I lived closer to them so that they could also partake of my cooking adventures. One aunt even suggested buying the groceries. That suggestion is almost enough persuasion in itself for me to move. Almost. ;) 

While I cleaning up the dishes Chris came over and kissed me. He then thanked me for "taking care of his belly." What a swell guy! I did find that the perfect invitation to say, "you know, you can show your appreciation to me by taking me somewhere tomorrow that I've never been." When I told him the place he looked puzzled, but partially agreed. Make sure you come back tomorrow to see if and/or where I want to go. 

Hope y'all enjoyed the post. 

Till tomorrow,

Lacey 

Living lowcarb (day 3!)

I got a wild idea last night to up my leg presses to 200lbs and now I am greatly regretting it! My back has ached all day. I felt the pressure in my back while I was performing the presses, but I brushed it off as nothing to cause me worry. I am now wishing I had listened to the pressure and worried. I have taken it easy all day today and didn't even work out this evening. Hopefully it will be back to normal tomorrow. :) 

To get started on my day I decided to try a new recipe for an egg frittata. Egg frittata sounds so fancy, but actually it's just oven scrambled eggs. Ha! That just reminded me that you can also hard boil eggs in an oven. Wait, **making mental note to try** ok, so I added pretty much the same ingredients that I use for cheesy egg scramble, whisked it up, and poured the egg mixture into my muffin pan. They turned out quiet cute. I was feeling very fancy eating my egg frittatas in bed. ;) Who says you can't fix yourself breakfast in bed sometimes? I'm a firm believer in spoiling myself. 

Throughout the day I snacked on some almonds and a few porkrinds. I don't love porkrinds, but they will do for a quick snack.  

I had fixed Miles, (a man we pick up for church,) a plate of food last night, but he wasn't home to receive it. For my lunch today I had Miles' supper. That sounds terrible, I know! Bless his heart. I did enjoy it immensely. 

Supper consisted of sautéed cheesy spinach, and beef tips and onions. Chris has proclaimed that since I stay home all the time I am becoming quiet the chef. I'm fairly certain it has more to do with me actually cooking than just being home all the time, but I'm just glad he thinks so. ;) Chris has really surprised me with how he has tried, liked, and even loved some of the concoctions I have created. Tonight's supper was no exception. It was very tasty and he cleaned up all the leftovers for me. 

The beef tips and onions were pan fried in coconut oil and hand squeezed orange juice. The meat was so tender and juicy. As every drop of that tropical flavored deliciousness landed on my tongue, I could easily imagine myself on a sunny beach with my feet in the sand. The wind lightly lifting my skirt with its breeze. An iced sweet tea in one hand and a mystery novel in the other. My eyes wandering from the words on the page to catch a glimpse of my hubby carrying our small toddler on his hip as they splashed through ankle deep water. Ahhhhhh yes...food can seriously take you anywhere! ;) 

I'm also currently dreaming of chocolate cupcake Oreos thanks to the picture the hubby just sent me. I MUST go eat a grapefruit. I MUST get back to my tropical paradise before the flesh weakens. Here I come warm sandy beach! Oh look! There's Mamaw! Wait for meeeeeeeeeeeee...

Hope y'all enjoyed! 

Till tomorrow,

Lacey

Low-carb life.

So Chris and I started a 30 day healthy challenge. We each picked what we wanted to do (diet wise) and started our journeys. I chose to do my 30 day challenge lowcarb style. Chris chose to just eat healthier and watch his portions. My main goal with my 30 days is to see if I really loose belly fat (inches) like most people claim they do on a low carb diet. I have plenty to loose! Chris is just trying to beat me. ;) Whomever looses the most weight after the 30 days wins a whole day of doing/going/eating whatever and wherever they choose and gets a new pair of kicks! I can't wait to go outlet shopping! We are both going to the gym and working out. We are doing cardio and strength. I've heard that guys naturally loose faster than gals so I'm hoping that by cutting carbs I will give myself a boost to loose quickly. 

So far, I must admit, this day has been very headachy. Bllllllaaaahhhhh. I'm assuming this side effect is from cutting carbs and sweets off after a weekend of binging on all things carby. I knew better, but the hubs and I had a sweet little getaway to a cabin in TN. You can't go on a little getaway without munchies and lots of eating. I'm sure we all know that feeling of pure hunger after swimming in a pool? Well, that is kinda what happens with me and hot tubs. Or big bath tubs. Or shopping. Or playing mini golf. Haha! Who am I kidding? I just love to eat. I honestly enjoy food. I love to get in the kitchen to create new dishes and expand my hubby's taste buds. He's come to love many new things from my cooking experiments. 

So I said all that to say this. 

For the next 30 days I will try to post my foodie pics and ideas for low carb eats and maybe even treats. 

Today I tried cheesy egg scramble for breakfast. It was so delish! I absolutely hate raw onions. I mean hate! The smell. The taste. The texture. Blllecckk! My family can amen that for me. To my wonderful surprise I learnt that I LOVE chives. I am so glad I made myself try them. I actually can't believe I had never tried them. They gave my breakfast a delicious flavor. I can see chive smoothies in the future. ;) J/k. Or am I? 

For lunch I had about a pound of spinach. No. Seriously. I think I really did. I do love some good greens tho. Spinach is probably my favorite. I added feta cheese crumbles and pecans. Now I would rather of had those sweet toasted brown sugar kind that you get in restaurant salads, but alas I chose regular ones that are not too carby. If I have good cheese or add-ins in my salad I don't even need dressing. I just gobbled up this beatiful green bowl in no time and even felt full. 

For supper we had more spinach, but it got paired with a lovely cheesy tasty meat patty. I could have easily eaten one or two more, but I'm saying no to my usual gorging. :) 

So for day one I think it went well! Besides the headache that is. Hopefully that goes away soon. 

If I get hungry later I may have to have myself a grapefruit. Fruit is dessert around this lowcarb house. :) 

Hope y'all enjoyed the post! Hopefully I can post daily so y'all can see my delicious daily foods. Till then...

Lacey