Beef Brisket and Tuna Casserole

This week's menu has consisted of Beef Brisket and Tuna Casserole (both recipes are pinned to my Appetite for Victory Pinterest board).

Talk about eating well and not feeling deprived!

Breakfast is always three eggs fried in olive oil and real bacon bits topped with a tablespoon of Kerrygold butter. Coffee, always... Bulletproof Coffee on occasion.

Lunch this week has been a bit different:  Monday I went to BWW; I had pulled pork sliders, sauce on the side and removed the bun and a side of potatoes. Tuesday I went to a local deli: I had a club sandwich without the bread and a side salad. Wednesday I went to the local bowling alley: I had a burger without the bun topped with feta cheese (I L O V E feta) and baked fries. Thursday I went to a local grocer. I enjoyed their home-made pot roast with a double side of their home-made green beans. Today, I dined on the Tuna Casserole.

Dinners have been a combination of the tuna casserole, beef brisket, bunless cheeseburgers, and Boars Head skinless hot dogs.

All in all, I feel satisfied with very little hunger pains.

Sandwich Buffet...

As an Administrative Assistant, one of my pleasures is catering food for different events, meetings or customer visits. A luncheon I regularly order is a mini sandwich buffet from Dorothy Lane Market (a local gourmet grocer).

I'm not always invited to partake , but was today. Faced with the challenge of being wheat and sugar free- and knowing the food preparations- I accepted.

I removed the bread from the sandwiches. I avoided the pasta in the salad and enjoyed the bacon, cheese, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes. The 7 layer salad had peas that I removed. Then I had a tablespoon of Mayo and Dijon mustard. And I did not have their signature Killer(r) brownie!!!

1.5 carbs for the 3 half slices of cheese
2 carbs for the veggies & salad
1 carb for the mustard
So a total of 4.5 net carbs for the meal.

If I would have eaten all the other items:
50 carbs in the buns
35 carbs in the pasta
3 carbs in the peas
72 carbs in the killer brownie
A total of 155 carbs.

It was hard; but, NOT impossible!

No Pasta Mac and Cheese Casserole

My husband found this recipe online AND he made it himself!! It is very good!!

1 pound extra firm tofu
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup cream
salt and garlic powder (to taste)
With a fork, mash the Tofu into little pieces.
Whip eggs and cream
Mix in cheese then add to the tofu.
Put the mixture in a casserole dish and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is lightly brown and bubbly.
To make it a little more filling he added a 6 ounce can if tuna, drained and then baked.
The possibilities are endless: ham, bacon, veggies, olives, etc. Or serve without additions as a side to your favorite protein... mine would be steak!

Helpful Tip:  Grate that cheese yourself! When you buy preshredded cheese, it is dusted with something that dries it out so it doesn't clump together. For creamier cheese that melts better, grate your own, it takes a little longer but it is so worth it!!

Eating out, Low Carb Style

We had lunch at BWW this afternoon. Burger topped with American cheese, bacon, and sliced steak. Pickle spear and salad with Ranch dressing. I removed the croutons. Coke Zero to drink.

Hubby and son had chips & salsa, happy to say I didn't have one bite.

I'm counting this meal as:
2 carbs for the cheese
1 carb for the dressing
1 carb for the pickle
1 carb for the Coke Zero
For a total of 5 carbs.

Eat this... Not that... My way

It's a sweets smorgasbord in the break room here at work. Perkin's Lemon pie; Chocolate chip cookies; Peanut butter cookies; Brownies

The evil carbohydrate addict Inside me is screaming for a bite. I'm not caving in.

I have an emergency snack that I grabbed from the fridge: three slices of deli ham, two slices of provolone, rolled it up and dipped it in mayo & horseradish instead.

If you're keeping track, that's a Victory!!

Spaghetti Squash

Excellent source of vitamins and minerals... With only 7.8 net carbs per one cup serving.

Cut in half. Remove seeds. Rub olive oil on the inside, place cut side down in shallow pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. It is done when a dinner fork pierces the outer skin.

Use a fork or spoon to scrape the flesh away from the outer shell. Enjoy tossed with olive oil or butter - or do my favorite, top it with spaghetti sauce.

Deviled Eggs

The go to food for a quick snack when low carbing. Only 1.5 carbs for two halves. I have about 8 weeks to lose as much as possible for the Best the Boss challenge at work with a cash prize of $500.

I don't measure. This was 16 eggs. 1/2 cup real mayo. 1.5 T of yellow mustard. 1.5 T hot n spicy mustard. 1 heaping T pickle relish. Salt. Paprika.

Wednesday 7-18-2012

The usual for breakfast.
Lunch was: triple Decker baconator topped with ketchup,mustard, and a huge dollop of mayo.
Salad with ranch dressing.
Dinner was the toppings off The Works individual pizza.

Day two of Induction redo

Foods today:

Breakfast:

• Coffee with 4T HWC
• 3 eggs with real bacon bits cooked in lard

Lunch:

• 1 cup lettuce
• 2 T LC ranch
• 1 ounce cheddar
• 3 baked chicken tenderloins

Dinner:

• 1 LC Tortilla (gluten free)
• 4 slices of fat free Ham

Snack:

• Coffee with 3T HWC

Net carbs: 20

Just the Plan Ma'am and nothing but the Plan

I work outside of the home. It's a pretty demanding job located about a thirty minute drive each way.  My son and niece go to school near there. So we car pool to save gas. 

Things have been pretty hectic at work lately and there have been some days that I leave the office and come home to finish working on some items. 

My honey hubby works second shift and he's not much of a cook (sorry honey, but you warm things up really well). Before following the low carb diet, I would make excuses all the time for eating out or eating junk food for dinner. From "I'm too tired" to "I don't know what to cook."  AND there's no lie, when I don't have a plan, both of those things are true.  But, when you're eating all natural, low carb, wheat and sugar free - you pretty much have to cook for yourself.  

So I spent my day/evening cooking, planning ahead for the week. Honey hubby liked the spaghetti squash so much he asked for that again.  My niece is going to try low carbing with us so that means her normal breakfast of waffles and chocolate cows milk is a no go. My son, well, he does his own thing because he's such a picky eater.

My niece will have crustless bacon & cheese quiche with stevia chocolate powder in sugar free coconut milk. This will net her about 5 carbs for breakfast. I made this tonight and put it in containers for the week.

For our lunches I made a meat spaghetti sauce and spaghetti squash which will net about 10 carbs per serving, each container is a serving size.

When I have time to cook dinner, we'll have chopped steak or chicken breast & a veggie or a salad. But on those nights when I'm beat or we have errands to run... I know I can just reach into the fridge and grab one of the pre-made dinners.

Planning ahead leads to NO excuses for cheating!!!

My Menu

Yesterday's foods:
Coffee with heavy whipping cream
I scrambled egg
Salad
Vegetable Soup
Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce.

I cooked four spaghetti squashes to spread between Rod and I over the next several days.  With a bunch of it I made a lasagna.  Then the rest went to be served with Spaghetti sauce.

Today's foods:
Coffee with heavy whipping cream
3 fried eggs in olive oil
1 Tb of real bacon bits
1 cup spaghetti squash with 1/2 cup meat sauce
1 serving lasagna
salad with dressing

I put on several pounds over the last two weeks because of stress eating and not really watching my diet that carefully.  I became super strict again on Saturday and am already down 3 pounds.

Once I can get to walking, I'll be able to really start shedding the weight and continue towards my goal of 50 pounds by December 31.

Saturday's Menu

Coffee with heavy whipping cream
Three egg ham and cheese omelette
Three slices of bacon

8 ounce steak
Salad with ranch
Green beans
Sautéed mushrooms

Lovely Low Carb Lunch

This is the kind of meal you can enjoy at a catered business lunch when you're the one arranging the food.