I spent about 2 hours in the kitchen tonight. I had planned to make Snickerdoodle Crepes for my breakfast for the next two days, but I'm all cooked out. Instead, I made cream cheese pancakes, which will be a good substitute, even if a little less flavorful, and I'll make the crepes on Thursday to eat this weekend. One large pack of chicken wings became basic baked chicken wings for my mom, daughter and husband, and Classic Buffalo Wings for me. I also packed up four servings of No Chop Chili and made cheddar crisps to go with that. I cut the thin deli style cheddar into four pieces, placed the squares on parchment paper, and baked them at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes. This crisped them wonderfully without burning them, and they really do taste like Cheez Its. The only thing I have left to make tonight is the Buffalo Omelette, which I now will call Buffalo Burritos.
I don't know if I'll be posting again until next week. I tend to get beyond tired and antisocial after a few shifts. I don't know what changed, but while I was in school for three years, life happened. I lost touch with friends, spent more and more time alone, and that became a way of life. I do most of my socializing at work now and I am more than happy to just network with immediate family while at home. After several 12 to 13 hour shifts of smiling, pouring compassion out, and hours of total nursing, I am pretty burnt out. Enough of that though!
I have four days of transition planned from the egg fast, after which I plan to do three days of Atkins Induction. After that, if I feel good about it, and if the scale doesn't move in the wrong direction, I'll move up to Phase 2 again. I'm not seeing a massive loss on the scale, but my clothes do fit differently, and I am noticing that I have to hitch my jeans up every few minutes. I'd wear a belt, but my jeans have tiny little loops. I don't own a tiny little belt. Heck, I don't own belts. My days are more about comfort while wearing my tshirt out or pajamas. They don't even have to match.
The hubby asked me tonight if I'd be doing the egg fast again. The simple answer is yes. I was surprised not to be totally sick of eggs by now, and I figure if I get to a standstill on my weight for more than three weeks, it will be time to think of the fast again. The biggest surprise is I haven't had gas. I have a coworker that eats huge amounts of protein, since he body builds, and he eats a lot of eggs. His gas is horrific. He has no sense of smell either. We've learned the art of keeping a straight face around strong or strange odors, though, so no huge issue. I am just super glad not to be gassy! The only boiled eggs I have eaten are the deviled eggs, and even those didn't give me gas. Chalk that off as a win. Regardless, any time I choose to do this fast again will require three straight days off for the first few days of the fast, mostly because I hate cooking on work days.
What I ate/will eat today:
Breakfast: keto custard, BPC
S: string cheese
L: three fried eggs, BPC (yes, I know I am only supposed to have one cup!)
S: cheddar "chips"
D: buffalo omelette "burritos"
Not nearly enough water.
In any case, the only thing I have not eaten yet is the Buffalo burritos, and I don't plan to make those until later. As it is likely most of the household will be asleep, I won't be using my magic bullet, but I bought the cutest little whisk set ever for just such an occasion. Time to throw my laundry in the dryer, and then put my feet up and play some Starbound, my newest Steam obsession.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
Egg Fast Day 2
This morning, I briefly stepped on the scale. Keeping in mind that water fluctuations can cause weight fluctuations, I was still pretty pleased. 168.8 is nothing to sneeze at. That tiny little .4 made me smile. When I passed the mirror this morning, I finally saw the difference. My face is thinner, my belly is not sticking out as far, and my clothes are fitting better. The place where my stomach folds over at the bottom is not as deep, and when I stand straight, it isn't folded over touching.
I actually ate my breakfast before I went to bed this morning. This time I fried my eggs on the stove instead of using my electric skillet and the difference was wonderful. The yolks didn't have to be broken, they weren't a floppy mess, and they were beautifully done. I used a sugar free steak seasoning and it was just the thing to make my eggs super yummy. I also found out when I ate my lunch today that refrigerated deviled eggs should be left at room temperature for a while before eating them. They taste much better!
Since I have to make my wings tomorrow night for Wednesday and Thursday, I decided to make the custards tonight. The problem? I followed the recipe and there was a little batter left over. I made three batches total and poured the batter into 8 ounce glass, oven safe containers I found from Walmart. Not true ramekins, but they'll do. The batter was pretty thin, so the custard didn't set in the time I was supposed to bake them. It took one hour, but they look beautiful. Lightly brown on top. A little jiggly. Smells delicious. It's gonna be so hard to wait to eat them!
I feel a little sorry for the hubby. He's not low-carbing it, so I am not letting him partake in this, but I will have to make him some traditional custard.
There was a bit of batter leftover, and I made a mistake with it. I decided to put it in a saucepan and try heating it up on the stove, stirring constantly. I knew the moment I messed up. The mixture went from thickened and creamy to grainy. I broke the custard. It came out with an awful texture, but the taste was okay.
Later tonight, I am going to make a modified version of the buffalo omelette. I'll update on how it goes.
UPDATE:
The modification worked out perfectly! I used my electric skillet, which doesn't even need butter or oil when cooking, cut the omelette recipe by a third, and made three egg "pancakes". When they were done, I used only half of the cream cheese mixture and spread it evenly over each piece, then rolled them up. It was just enough heat and just creamy enough to satisfy. It was even hubby approved. I am full without being stuffed, which is so much better than I felt last night.
So this is what I ate today:
Breakfast: two eggs fried in butter
Snack: string cheese and BPC
Lunch: four deviled egg halves
Snack: half of a serving of keto custard without the sauce
Dinner: 2 egg "pancakes" spread with half the buffalo cream cheese
After dinner: another cup of unsweetened BPC
Still not totally sick of eggs at the moment! That is the very best thing.
The sad moment for me tonight: I cut the corner of my mom's door thinking to pick on the dog a little and see if he wanted to come sit on the loveseat with me. I saw the empty spot where he would be, and it hit me all over again. I do miss him so much. I really wish I could hold him and hug his neck one more time and look to see him looking back adoringly with those big, beautiful brown eyes.
I actually ate my breakfast before I went to bed this morning. This time I fried my eggs on the stove instead of using my electric skillet and the difference was wonderful. The yolks didn't have to be broken, they weren't a floppy mess, and they were beautifully done. I used a sugar free steak seasoning and it was just the thing to make my eggs super yummy. I also found out when I ate my lunch today that refrigerated deviled eggs should be left at room temperature for a while before eating them. They taste much better!
Since I have to make my wings tomorrow night for Wednesday and Thursday, I decided to make the custards tonight. The problem? I followed the recipe and there was a little batter left over. I made three batches total and poured the batter into 8 ounce glass, oven safe containers I found from Walmart. Not true ramekins, but they'll do. The batter was pretty thin, so the custard didn't set in the time I was supposed to bake them. It took one hour, but they look beautiful. Lightly brown on top. A little jiggly. Smells delicious. It's gonna be so hard to wait to eat them!
I feel a little sorry for the hubby. He's not low-carbing it, so I am not letting him partake in this, but I will have to make him some traditional custard.
There was a bit of batter leftover, and I made a mistake with it. I decided to put it in a saucepan and try heating it up on the stove, stirring constantly. I knew the moment I messed up. The mixture went from thickened and creamy to grainy. I broke the custard. It came out with an awful texture, but the taste was okay.
Later tonight, I am going to make a modified version of the buffalo omelette. I'll update on how it goes.
UPDATE:
The modification worked out perfectly! I used my electric skillet, which doesn't even need butter or oil when cooking, cut the omelette recipe by a third, and made three egg "pancakes". When they were done, I used only half of the cream cheese mixture and spread it evenly over each piece, then rolled them up. It was just enough heat and just creamy enough to satisfy. It was even hubby approved. I am full without being stuffed, which is so much better than I felt last night.
So this is what I ate today:
Breakfast: two eggs fried in butter
Snack: string cheese and BPC
Lunch: four deviled egg halves
Snack: half of a serving of keto custard without the sauce
Dinner: 2 egg "pancakes" spread with half the buffalo cream cheese
After dinner: another cup of unsweetened BPC
Still not totally sick of eggs at the moment! That is the very best thing.
The sad moment for me tonight: I cut the corner of my mom's door thinking to pick on the dog a little and see if he wanted to come sit on the loveseat with me. I saw the empty spot where he would be, and it hit me all over again. I do miss him so much. I really wish I could hold him and hug his neck one more time and look to see him looking back adoringly with those big, beautiful brown eyes.
Running the Gamut
Today has been such a mixed day emotionally. I had a little victory, and our family had a big loss.
I guess good news and a descriptor of my diet today first. All in all, I stuck pretty well to the egg fast, having switched the meals around. I gotta say, maybe it was not a good idea to fry my eggs or make my omelette in my electric skillet. The butter browned way too fast, and the eggs were a pain to flip. Too, the buffalo omelette is just too large for me, and it would have been better with a little less filling. I plan to modify it a bit by splitting the egg mixture up into three parts and making thin, smaller "pancakes". I'll decrease the filling by half and spread it thinly over the eggs and roll them up. It wasn't bad.It was just very rich, and I was only able to finish about two-thirds of it. The deviled eggs were AMAZINGLY good... I may never make them the way I used to again. Just a hint of spice and a lovely tang.
This is what I ate today:
Breakfast: two eggs fried hard, one cup of Bullet Proof coffee.
Snack: string cheese
Lunch: two easy deviled eggs (that's four halves)
Snack: string cheese
Dinner: buffalo omelette
Late evening: Bullet Proof coffee lightly flavored with Torani sugar free caramel syrup
Main drink: water, water, and more water!
A total of roughly 6 eggs. And I ain't even mad about it.
My weigh-in is typically Sunday evenings. This evening I stepped up on the scale and saw a number I have not seen since before I started nursing school in 2013: 169! This makes me incredibly happy. My hope is to lose four to five pounds on the fast and then ease back into eating Induction for a week or two, and then go back into Phase 2. I am really hoping the weight loss stays a loss after I come off the fast!
Now, for the bad news. I woke up late this morning and my husband made me sit on the couch. I knew immediately something was wrong. The vet had called my mom last night full of hope and asking if we wanted to come visit Barney today. I was a bit skeptical. He suffered terrible separation anxiety, and I didn't want him to feel double abandoned. This morning, he unexpectedly passed away.
Oh, my heart. I ache physically from the heartache. We did so want him to come home. Apparently the diagnosis last week of vertigo was wrong. They think he had a stroke, and that last night he had a massive one that closed his sweet brown eyes forever. The blessing is that he is no longer in pain and never will be again, but we miss him ever so much. A dog is not just a dog. A dog is family, and our hearts will be scarred. When God made dogs, He made animals so full of love and loyalty that it's astounding. Oh, my heart...
I guess I'll be back again tomorrow or Tuesday to update on the fast.
I guess good news and a descriptor of my diet today first. All in all, I stuck pretty well to the egg fast, having switched the meals around. I gotta say, maybe it was not a good idea to fry my eggs or make my omelette in my electric skillet. The butter browned way too fast, and the eggs were a pain to flip. Too, the buffalo omelette is just too large for me, and it would have been better with a little less filling. I plan to modify it a bit by splitting the egg mixture up into three parts and making thin, smaller "pancakes". I'll decrease the filling by half and spread it thinly over the eggs and roll them up. It wasn't bad.It was just very rich, and I was only able to finish about two-thirds of it. The deviled eggs were AMAZINGLY good... I may never make them the way I used to again. Just a hint of spice and a lovely tang.
This is what I ate today:
Breakfast: two eggs fried hard, one cup of Bullet Proof coffee.
Snack: string cheese
Lunch: two easy deviled eggs (that's four halves)
Snack: string cheese
Dinner: buffalo omelette
Late evening: Bullet Proof coffee lightly flavored with Torani sugar free caramel syrup
Main drink: water, water, and more water!
A total of roughly 6 eggs. And I ain't even mad about it.
My weigh-in is typically Sunday evenings. This evening I stepped up on the scale and saw a number I have not seen since before I started nursing school in 2013: 169! This makes me incredibly happy. My hope is to lose four to five pounds on the fast and then ease back into eating Induction for a week or two, and then go back into Phase 2. I am really hoping the weight loss stays a loss after I come off the fast!
Now, for the bad news. I woke up late this morning and my husband made me sit on the couch. I knew immediately something was wrong. The vet had called my mom last night full of hope and asking if we wanted to come visit Barney today. I was a bit skeptical. He suffered terrible separation anxiety, and I didn't want him to feel double abandoned. This morning, he unexpectedly passed away.
Oh, my heart. I ache physically from the heartache. We did so want him to come home. Apparently the diagnosis last week of vertigo was wrong. They think he had a stroke, and that last night he had a massive one that closed his sweet brown eyes forever. The blessing is that he is no longer in pain and never will be again, but we miss him ever so much. A dog is not just a dog. A dog is family, and our hearts will be scarred. When God made dogs, He made animals so full of love and loyalty that it's astounding. Oh, my heart...
I guess I'll be back again tomorrow or Tuesday to update on the fast.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Oops
The last few days have been days of blunders, both intentional and non-intentional. I am going to tattle on myself. Yes, I am going to tell you how NOT healthy I have been eating and what I am about to do to get back on track.
So, Wednesday night, I didn't pack much of a lunch. I decided I needed to grab something, so I headed downstairs to the Subway in our cafeteria before it closed. I decided to get a BMT salad. Basically it's pepperoni, salami, and ham (I think). I wandered over to the cooler and grabbed a sugar free Snapple, and then it happened. My eyes came across something that I really, really wish hadn't been there. Our kitchen was offering miniature citrus bundt cakes. My resolve and willpower crumbled. So, in addition to mostly eating a healthy dinner, I caved to carbs in the worst way possible. I knew I shouldn't, even as I was filling my mouth with that delectable bittersweet taste. I felt horribly guilty.
After I got home, I had all intentions of getting a few hours of sleep and then planning my next week of meals before hitting up the grocery store. It turns out that my mom's dog (for some reason, he's chosen me for his person) was horribly sick. We thought it was just vertigo. It ended up being much worse. (He is, in fact, in the animal hospital recovering as I write this. Not sure exactly what happened yet, but we're hopeful for full recovery.) In any case, I didn't get a few hours of sleep. For roughly 24 hours, I was up and down with him, giving him medicine, trying to feed him, taking him out to potty or to his water bowl to drink. In that time, I grabbed a couple of cheese sticks, and that was Thursday's meals. Friday, I slept a few hours. I had a microwaveable Atkins meal and a couple of cheese sticks. That was it. Today, again, I was horribly tired and just vegged on the couch until this evening. I finally took the hubby out and had a half of an omelet and a small side salad before going to the grocery store.
This was NOT a healthy few days!
I have decided to do a somewhat altered version of the I Breathe I'm Hungry Egg Fast. As the author says, you can follow it in any way you choose, so I am going to. I am not sure how well it is going to go over reheating some of these dishes at work, but we will have to see! I'm not gonna lie though... I am really looking forward to the alfredo and chicken wings later on!
The plan is to follow the fast from day three rather than day one. I am off the next three days, work Wednesday, off Thursday, and working the whole weekend. This means I need to be careful about how I plan. Work is my weak point! I have found myself hungrier from boredom mixed with periods of sudden stress more than from anything else. I'll hit the grocery store on my way home Thursday morning, and cook Thursday night for the weekend. I haven't figured out what to eat for the week after the fast, so some planning is in order! In the meantime, I am drooling thinking of wings and celery. Nom nom nom...
So, Wednesday night, I didn't pack much of a lunch. I decided I needed to grab something, so I headed downstairs to the Subway in our cafeteria before it closed. I decided to get a BMT salad. Basically it's pepperoni, salami, and ham (I think). I wandered over to the cooler and grabbed a sugar free Snapple, and then it happened. My eyes came across something that I really, really wish hadn't been there. Our kitchen was offering miniature citrus bundt cakes. My resolve and willpower crumbled. So, in addition to mostly eating a healthy dinner, I caved to carbs in the worst way possible. I knew I shouldn't, even as I was filling my mouth with that delectable bittersweet taste. I felt horribly guilty.
After I got home, I had all intentions of getting a few hours of sleep and then planning my next week of meals before hitting up the grocery store. It turns out that my mom's dog (for some reason, he's chosen me for his person) was horribly sick. We thought it was just vertigo. It ended up being much worse. (He is, in fact, in the animal hospital recovering as I write this. Not sure exactly what happened yet, but we're hopeful for full recovery.) In any case, I didn't get a few hours of sleep. For roughly 24 hours, I was up and down with him, giving him medicine, trying to feed him, taking him out to potty or to his water bowl to drink. In that time, I grabbed a couple of cheese sticks, and that was Thursday's meals. Friday, I slept a few hours. I had a microwaveable Atkins meal and a couple of cheese sticks. That was it. Today, again, I was horribly tired and just vegged on the couch until this evening. I finally took the hubby out and had a half of an omelet and a small side salad before going to the grocery store.
This was NOT a healthy few days!
I have decided to do a somewhat altered version of the I Breathe I'm Hungry Egg Fast. As the author says, you can follow it in any way you choose, so I am going to. I am not sure how well it is going to go over reheating some of these dishes at work, but we will have to see! I'm not gonna lie though... I am really looking forward to the alfredo and chicken wings later on!
The plan is to follow the fast from day three rather than day one. I am off the next three days, work Wednesday, off Thursday, and working the whole weekend. This means I need to be careful about how I plan. Work is my weak point! I have found myself hungrier from boredom mixed with periods of sudden stress more than from anything else. I'll hit the grocery store on my way home Thursday morning, and cook Thursday night for the weekend. I haven't figured out what to eat for the week after the fast, so some planning is in order! In the meantime, I am drooling thinking of wings and celery. Nom nom nom...
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
A Rare Event, Warm, and Fed!
South Carolina got snow today! Where I live we got around 3 inches at least. It won't stick around for long tomorrow, but it was so lovely. There is something that stirs the soul when the world gets quiet and starts to turn white. Everything is transformed into a white, blank slate, and nothing is quite familiar. I adored watching the flakes fall steadily for several hours. We never lost power, thankfully, and the hubby got home early (school got out early for the kidlets), and my daughter's workplace called to tell her the snow was getting too bad, so she didn't have to go in. Score and score!
I started belatedly thinking about supper. Nothing was thawed and everyone was getting little hungry. I was thinking maybe steak, but my daughter doesn't eat steak, so that was out. I looked at a 2 1/2 pound pork roast and my heart fell as I realized it was a solid piece of ice. To thaw would take forever, and to put into the oven would take hours. Then I remembered I had an Instant Pot.
I seasoned the icy block of pork, placed it into the instant pot on the trivet, added some water, sealed it, and set it for 40 minutes. An hour later, we had a savory, fully cooked roast that tasted wonderful! I was pretty impressed. It even got done before the scalloped potatoes! Yes, I love my Instant Pot. It is the best thing ever!
If anyone were to ask me for the single most important piece of advice I could give with the Instant Pot, it would be to order extra sealing rings as soon as possible. The yogurt I made earlier this week was divine, but it has a faint flavor of bell peppers from the soup I made first. It's not quite enough to put me off from eating it, but close. I thoroughly wash the sealing ring and lid every time I use the Instant Pot, but it still carries the scent of the dishes made in it. Because scent is tiny particles of the item, it makes sense that the flavor would be imparted to the yogurt. Therefore, no more yogurt until I have new rings. One ring will be for all of my savory items, one for yogurt only, and one for the rare sweets I may make. I'll also order backups for later.
I have to work all weekend, so I won't be using my Instant Pot again until next week, but I sure will be looking for new and interesting ways to do so. It's a life saver and a joy to use. I'll also enjoy the snow one more time before I go to sleep in the morning, after the sun comes up and gilds it with it's golden glow.
I started belatedly thinking about supper. Nothing was thawed and everyone was getting little hungry. I was thinking maybe steak, but my daughter doesn't eat steak, so that was out. I looked at a 2 1/2 pound pork roast and my heart fell as I realized it was a solid piece of ice. To thaw would take forever, and to put into the oven would take hours. Then I remembered I had an Instant Pot.
I seasoned the icy block of pork, placed it into the instant pot on the trivet, added some water, sealed it, and set it for 40 minutes. An hour later, we had a savory, fully cooked roast that tasted wonderful! I was pretty impressed. It even got done before the scalloped potatoes! Yes, I love my Instant Pot. It is the best thing ever!
If anyone were to ask me for the single most important piece of advice I could give with the Instant Pot, it would be to order extra sealing rings as soon as possible. The yogurt I made earlier this week was divine, but it has a faint flavor of bell peppers from the soup I made first. It's not quite enough to put me off from eating it, but close. I thoroughly wash the sealing ring and lid every time I use the Instant Pot, but it still carries the scent of the dishes made in it. Because scent is tiny particles of the item, it makes sense that the flavor would be imparted to the yogurt. Therefore, no more yogurt until I have new rings. One ring will be for all of my savory items, one for yogurt only, and one for the rare sweets I may make. I'll also order backups for later.
I have to work all weekend, so I won't be using my Instant Pot again until next week, but I sure will be looking for new and interesting ways to do so. It's a life saver and a joy to use. I'll also enjoy the snow one more time before I go to sleep in the morning, after the sun comes up and gilds it with it's golden glow.
Monday, January 1, 2018
Pucker Up, Buttercup!
Almost as soon as I woke up today, I checked in on my yogurt. As soon as it was done fermenting yesterday, I laid a "flour sack" towel into a colander (one thickness), carefully wrapped it up, and tied the whole shebang with a piece of plastic wrap. Today, I was delighted to open the towel and find a thick, creamy lump about the consistency of cream cheese. A half gallon of milk yielded a little less than a quart of yogurt and a little more than a quart of whey. I was a little sorrowful to pour the whey out, but it's got a lot of carbs due to high sugar content, even if it is packed with protein as well. The flavor was super sour! It tasted very little like store bought yogurt, but it did taste quite a bit like the starter I used: Powerful Whole Fat Greek Yogurt
Why choose whole fat? Well, I know that most folks would choose a lower fat to eat more, but a small amount of this is packed with flavor and it helps up my fat content. I have not figured out the nutritional counts, but I am going to figure in a half cup to be about 6 net carbs. Acceptable. I ended up freezing most of the leftover store bought yogurt to use as starter pucks.
I have a couple of mini goals set for housework today. I am washing laundry, and since we can't take the trash off until tomorrow (local recycling center is closed), I can't mop my floor, but I can sweep it. I don't want to set goals I may fail at, so these are my goals:
1) Fold and put away all laundry done today and prior to today.
2) Sweep the kitchen and dining room floors.
3) Clean off the bathroom counters.
4) Sort the small freezer (above the fridge).
5) Sort the fridge.
Anything beyond that is gravy, in my humble opinion.
So today I am going to also set up my meals through tomorrow night since I have to work. If I get to the store I am going to fry some bacon and make cabbage. I saved enough ham to make a couple of decent meals. The bone was too well cooked for me to make anything with, but the hubby saved me a cup of the ham juice. Will be good for seasoning veggies with.
Anyway, super pleased with how the yogurt turned out, and looking forward to feeling some satisfaction getting these mini goals done!
Why choose whole fat? Well, I know that most folks would choose a lower fat to eat more, but a small amount of this is packed with flavor and it helps up my fat content. I have not figured out the nutritional counts, but I am going to figure in a half cup to be about 6 net carbs. Acceptable. I ended up freezing most of the leftover store bought yogurt to use as starter pucks.
I have a couple of mini goals set for housework today. I am washing laundry, and since we can't take the trash off until tomorrow (local recycling center is closed), I can't mop my floor, but I can sweep it. I don't want to set goals I may fail at, so these are my goals:
1) Fold and put away all laundry done today and prior to today.
2) Sweep the kitchen and dining room floors.
3) Clean off the bathroom counters.
4) Sort the small freezer (above the fridge).
5) Sort the fridge.
Anything beyond that is gravy, in my humble opinion.
So today I am going to also set up my meals through tomorrow night since I have to work. If I get to the store I am going to fry some bacon and make cabbage. I saved enough ham to make a couple of decent meals. The bone was too well cooked for me to make anything with, but the hubby saved me a cup of the ham juice. Will be good for seasoning veggies with.
Anyway, super pleased with how the yogurt turned out, and looking forward to feeling some satisfaction getting these mini goals done!
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