Are you staying frugal?

What I've been eating lately:

Grilled pork chop/zucchini & squash zoodles/Chinese 5-spice carrots. Paleo Sesame Chicken on zoodles w/tomato & mozzarella.  Thai Cucumber Salad. Chopped Salad.
(Can you tell I've discovered my Spirelli again?)

What I've Seen Lately:

The purple flowers are striped hollyhocks - they're beautiful. Dad planted them between the corn and zinnias. They're single stalks about 4-5ft tall. Second pic is of garlic in its second year that I'd planted from seed from an online friend. It was supposed to be ready for harvest this fall. I dug out three that look like this and left about 8 more in the ground. They look like somewhat small shallots though they smell like garlic. I'm giving them a third year in hopes of getting some large bulbs of cloves. If anyone raises garlic and is familiar with either the variety of garlic this would be or would know what may have happened so that I only got a single bulb, I'd love to hear from you. Flowers in photo below are a few I snipped from what came up out of a packet of mixed perennial flower seeds.

Frugal doings lately:
> started a second part-time job
> adding half the amount of coffee grounds to the previous used grounds to get a second pot for half the cost (our coffee maker only makes 2 & 1/2 mugs of coffee)
> signed up with the area extension office for a cooking and walking program - free exercise and free food
> made a list of another bag of items to drop at Goodwill and filed it away for tax time
> getting my recipe and ingredients together to pickle garden beets
> sold two of A's college texts

> brought home some more sandwich wrappers from work that would've been thrown out (they'll be used to wrap/make party crackers again for a game at Christmas)
> making more of an effort to include garden produce as the core of meals
> found white cotton ankle socks on clearance at Mendards for A and me, 10pk for $2, and they're nice quality
> picked basil, put it on a paper towel lined plate to dry and some is hung to dry
> picked a small amount of sugar snap peas & green beans, blanched, then froze into 3 bags for future stir-fry meals
> made up several individual meals and froze them for when A moved into her college apartment for fall semester (3 salmon patties, 2 chicken primavera, 1 teriyaki shrimp stir-fry)
> bought 6 green peppers on sale 2 for $1, chopped and froze in 3 meal size servings
> cashed in for a $5 Amazon card at Swagbucks
> it rained and refilled my nearly empty rain barrels
> received a Redbox code for a movie, watched Divergent for free
> came across another Redbox offer for a free game rental that J & D enjoyed for free entertainment
> used coupons to get 3 bottles of hairspray for about $4.25 out of pocket but also got a $5 Target gc for the purchase of 3 Tresemme products (I just ran out of hairspray, so this was perfect and will last me for at least the next year hopefully!)
> used Target Cartwheel printout and coupons to get 4 boxes of low-carb snackbars for just a bit over $1 each, normally $4.69 per box
> more a frugal for boychild, D, he spent $4 on an arcade game and won a PS4 (though it was technically my $4 and my $$ that paid for he and two friends' laser tag rounds...still a much better deal had we been really intending to buy a new system...)
> cut watermelon, saved the juice, made popsicles, which we only ate half of and tossed the rest as we didn't like them and they have too much sugar anyway (guess that's more of a frugal fail)
> made low-carb muffins with some blueberries that were nearly ready to be tossed into compost
> ordered an analog stick off of Amazon to replace a broken one on a videogame controller as opposed to buying a whole new controller - received two of them for under $3 shipped
> cut buttons from a shirt that was headed for the rag bag

Are you staying frugal?

Frugal plans, ideas and thoughts:

1.) Plant more cabbages than I did last year, which I think was four. They could've stood hanging out in the garden a little longer without any damage done to them and could've then been stored in the garage or porch entryway. Also could grate more and freeze it as freezer coleslaw, though would like to grate it by hand rather than use the processor since it grated too fine.
2.) Must plant some sort of squash. So far, butternut and spaghetti have grown well. As well as zucchini, of course. Again, these remain hardy long after being harvested and stored in a cool place, though I don't believe the zucchini would store as long. They also can be cubed and frozen.
3.) Grow green beans. While we are not big fans of green beans, I have found a recipe that I was able to successfully convert to somewhat low-carb that most of us agreed makes green beans... good?!? The recipe I loosely followed was here. Frozen garden beans turned out great, Splenda substituted fantastically, and there was no need to pre-stir anything together. Toss the following in crock for about 2hrs : about a pound of frozen green beans, 1/2lb chopped and fried bacon, 1T butter, 1/3c Splenda brown sugar, 3tsp soy sauce, 1 scant tsp garlic powder. So a half row of green beans will get eaten after all!

 4.) Try to include and convert recipes to use more coconut flour as opposed to almond flour. It is so much cheaper. I also would like to increase my fiber intake and coconut flour's very high fiber - think I read nearly 60%.
5.) Try to convert more recipes to use Stevia In The Raw as opposed to Xylitol. While I like Xylitol, it is hugely expensive. I also need to order it online as it's not locally available. Stevia In The Raw's cheaper and sold at our small-town grocer.
6.) Avoid stopping at the local grocer. We spend too much there. If I need an item or two for a recipe, I will make something else rather than spend the gas/time/money to run into town. It's not even worth stopping on my way home from work as it usually leads to spending more on other items that I hadn't intended to purchase at that time.
7.) Preserved foods are meant to be eaten! Stop saving them for "some day" and start using them. I have actually started to do this. But I need to make a more conscious effort to do so regularly. Some of these preserved foods I will need to look up more recipe options for, such as the dehydrated spinach and canned garden carrots. But point being, why buy a bag of frozen diced carrots when I have home-canned ones already?!?
8.) Preserve more of the apples from our two trees. We did a couple gallon bags of dried apple rings and plenty of canned and frozen sauce. But I would like for none of it to go to waste out there! Canning may be the better option for next year so that there'll be more freezer space.
9.) Clean the closet across from the bathroom. This is where canned goods are stored... all over the shelf, amidst bedding, cereal, wrapping supplies... You get the picture. If I neaten it up I will be able to see what all I have in there for canned homegrown foods.
10.) Keep a large bag in the freezer for meat scraps. I do keep the carcass from turkeys and chickens that were roasted whole (most of the time), but need to do it at ALL times and with other meats. Steak fat and bones, pork fat and bones...Ham bone, don't give it away. Simmer that puppy down to a delicious, gelatinous broth.
11.) Keep a large bag for clean vegetable trimmings. I compost. So that is where it all usually goes. But I would like to make vegetable broth that can be used right away for soups or stored in the freezer.
12.) Learn to use the free texting app that I downloaded to my Kindle Fire (text+). I've tried for a couple of days to figure it out. But still don't know how to use it well. My original intent when I downloaded it was so that I could use it in conjunction with Redbox since I have heard that people with cells can text and get free rental codes now and then.
13.) Dried beans - use 'em. Yes, I know they are not low-carb. But I do use beans now and then. I make soup and taco salads and other people in my family do eat them. Admittedly, I eat a few each time I make something that includes them. But I do mean a "few". I am experimenting right now as I type this. I have a pot of pinto beans on their second boil on the stovetop. When they are done I will drain and rinse, then bag and freeze.
14.) Use the crockpot, electric fry skillet and toaster oven more often in the winter. Right now, propane has doubled since we filled just a few short weeks ago. There's supposed to be a propane shortage due to our extreme cold temps this January to explain that outrageous cost. Extreme cold that has cancelled school a handful of times and runs -35 to -50 with wind chill. Our last fill was $760! Keeping my fingers crossed it makes it through spring. (We heat our home, cook with a gas range, run a hot water heater... all with propane.) We did recently purchase an electric infra-red small room heater that we run in the living room when everyone's home. Small appliances, small appliances, small appliances!
15.) Keep thermostat between 60 and 65 as needed. Which means, turning it up nearing mealtimes and bathing times and keeping it lower all other times. My old slippers finally fell apart and I've been anxiously awaiting the clearance pair that I bought online from Kohl's using a 30% off and free shipping code. It's already been about two weeks, so I expect them any time. But, boy, are my feet freezing right now!
16.) Exercise. I've been struggling with doing regular exercise. I've been using my Leslie Sansone walking dvd's again and have been slowly trying to build back up to at least a 3 mile walk each morning before work. But have only been rotating the 1 & 2 mile walks. I need to step it up. Something's been missing with this lower-carb way of eating. Oh, yeah. Weightloss! I haven't lost anymore since nearly three years ago. I am hoping to build up strength and stamina, as well as using it to play a mind-trick on myself - I tend to eat better when I include regular physical activity.
17.) Walking to reduce gas (in the car, silly) and sneak in more exercise. This thought is actually something I intend to do this spring. I would like to park at our grocery store's lot and walk from there to work, then back again at the end of the day. I know about how long it takes to go one way and guess it to be around a mile or so. That'd be an easy couple of miles per work day. (We do not live in town, so walking to work's not feasible.)

That's all I can think of for now. But, as always, I am constantly thinking of how else to cut costs without feeling too deprived of anything. You know. Like HEAT. What types of things are you doing to either "buck down" or to self-improve?

Are you being frugal? (Also, a reduced sugar grape jelly recipe!)

What kind of squash is this? Is it a delicata?

I stopped in at a grocery store that I don't typically shop. They had a huge bin of all sorts of squash and gourds all jumbled together and they labeled them only as, "assorted". Not very helpful. I assumed they were edible. They were very good.

On the frugal front:
1.) I put my dried heirloom pea seeds in an envelope, labeled them, and placed that envelope in a sealed baggie, then into the freezer for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if this is the right way to save them. But it's my current plan. I also cut a couple pieces of pantyhose and fit them over two drying flower stalks on one of my heirloom lettuces out in the garden. I then cut a couple of stalks that had fallen over and put them in a window to continue to dry. When the buds dry up I will shake them into a bag and see if I get any seeds. Again, I don't know if this is the right way or not. But it's the plan that I have right now. I have a second type of heirloom lettuce out in the garden. But it never sent up any flowers or stalks. So I'm not sure what to do with that one. Guess I'll just count it as a loss and maybe plant a little earlier next year and hope that that longer season will provide seeds to save. Suggestions are welcome, of course.
2.) I received a Keurig sample in the mail. It has 4 cups in it. It's going in my Christmas stockpile of little goodies. It will likely be given to my s-i-l (no, I don't think she reads this...) as part of their family gift. I'm planning on doing one big stocking of random goodies for her, my brother, and their two young teens. We'd agreed to not doing any gifts this year. But I can't help myself sometimes. Also received two sweet coffee drink mix samples that will go in a stocking for someone else.
3.) Low-sugar Grape Jelly! Finally made some! This was made with a quart of grape juice that I thawed from our freezer from Dad's grapes last year. I did have to add some sugar, as our grapes are extremely sour and the xylitol & stevia hadn't quite done the job. This was frugal as I had everything already.
4.) Canned applesauce. Unsweetened, of course. Love having this during the winter months. Normally I freeze applesauce. But there's no freezer space right now. Also dried some apple slices and rings. Plan to do some more of those.
5.) Picked the last of the broccoli from the garden. Used it to make beef & broccoli.
6.) "A" ran out of dining dollars at her college. Rather than spend a ton of money at the store to feed her for the week, I went through our freezer and divided some veggies into single servings so she can make a couple stir-fry meals, baggied a couple chicken breast strips so she can add to those, found a block of cheese, gave her a bag of garden green beans and a bag of sliced almonds to dress them up with, baggied up a couple servings of spaghetti meat sauce and found a box of pasta in the pantry. We still need to stop by the store and pick up some toilet paper and a small package of steak/beef for another stir-fry option. Oh, and I found a small package of frozen hamburger and a packet of meatloaf seasoning, for which I had recently just bought some disposable mini-loaf pans. She'll also take some dried apple slices for snacking and a couple small potatoes from the garden.
7.) I've been unplugging a couple of power strips each night that our laptops, television and game system are plugged into. There was more than a $40 difference from our last bill. But the air conditioning that Ma & Pa use now and then hasn't been used either. So I can't really tell. Anyone do this and notice any savings?

Low-Sugar Grape Jelly
(adapted from Ball pectin package) 
(makes 2 pints)
3 & 1/3c unsweetened grape juice
6tsp lemon juice
2 - 0.4oz packets Ball Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin
1tsp butter
1/2c xylitol
1/2c Stevia In The Raw
30 drops liquid vanilla stevia
1/4c sugar


Heat juices over high heat. Whisk or stir in pectin gradually. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add butter, stir until melted. Mix xylitol, powdered stevia and sugar in a bowl, then add to juice mixture. Bring to boil again, stirring constantly, and boil for 1mn. Ladle into two clean pint jars and place lids on. Let sit to cool for about half an hour. Then store in refrigerator.

Need to pay closer attention...

I've been acting like someone in maintenance (only much worse) with their weightloss, while, in reality, I still have a good 20-30lbs that I want to lose.  It's tough to commit to getting online each evening and keeping record.  Proof is in the fact that I'd quit doing it a couple of times already.  Here I am, trying again.

Monday, 2/4/2013
B> 2 scrambled eggs, 2 strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> wild rice soup, cottage cheese w/bite of pear, pickle, 2celery sticks w/pb 
Supper> steak, serving Alexia fries, several spears asparagus
Snacks> 4 bites leftover pork roast, coffee w/h&h and stevia, frozen garden raspberries w/sf vanilla ice cream

Wow.  That looks like a lot of food.  Probably because IT IS.  At work I usually have a little of this and that, I like variety.  I'll try to curb that.  I also see that there's too much snacking.

Tuesday, 2/5/2013
B> 2 fried eggs, leftover steak bits, 2 strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> tuna salad (not the pasta kind) on little lettuce, 2 stalks celery w/pb & few raisins
S>  zoodles w/meat sauce, couple bites homemade unsweetened applesauce, diet Dr.Pepper
Snacks> 4 strawberries, sf vanilla latte, few homemade cocoa crusted almonds, Tbsp.dark chocolate chips

I finally bought myself a zoodle cutter.  I've read lots of blogs and read many reviews on spiral cutters, most seeming to really go for the larger cutters or mandolines.   I had bought myself an OXO Good Grips Mandoline Slicer for $40 at Target over a year ago.  I used it once.  Then it got boxed up and has been sitting on the bottom of my baker's rack ever since.  It just takes too much effort to set it up, use it, take apart and clean, then store it again...  (If you've ever lived in a trailer home you know that storage space has a premium price.)  So I thought that surely there must be a hand-held sized cutter of some sort, aside from a vegetable peeler.  What I discovered is below.  I just used it for the first time last night.  Perfect.  Yes, it was pretty expensive for a small piece of metal and plastic.  Fortunately I'd received a gift card from a relative and ended up paying only $5 of my own money for it.  I thought it may be a little tricky to clean the sharp little teeth, then realized a toothbrush would work perfectly well to do the job.

Do you make zoodles?  How do you enjoy them?  And, for the love of Pete, how do you keep them from being so wet (notice the greenish tinted ooze on my plate)?

Wednesday, 2/6/2013
B> 1 slice Ezekiel toast w/pb & j, 4 strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> small chicken taco salad, few bites cottage cheese w/6-8 pineapple tidbits
S> bbq beef ribs, several Tbsp corn, salad, small sweet potato w/butter, couple bites applesauce
Snacks> whole medium apple w/pb, 2 strawberries

Baby steps... I'm so full of sh!t with excuses, aren't I?  I did skip snacking while at work and skipped my afternoon sweetened hot drink.  I'm having one hell of a time with fruit, though.  Grr.  I think I need to avoid the cottage cheese at work as I usually crave a bite or two of fruit to go along with it.

Thursday, 2/7/2013
B> scrambled eggs, 1 Ezekiel toast w/butter & jam, 3 strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> small chicken taco salad, 2 celery sticks w/pb
S> Cheat - J wanted to go out to eat for a favorite club sandwich, followed by a big piece of pie
Snacks>  2 small chunks of banana w/pb & 4 raisins, homemade sf cappuccino, 8 homemade cocoa crusted almonds

I was going to make a pan of brownies to bring to work today.  Decided to maybe make them next week as a Valentine's Day treat instead.  The piece of banana was a planned cheat, well, planned since yesterday when I was cleaning these darling little bananas at work - so cute!  While it was a tiny banana I knew that it contained a ton of sugar so I cut off about a fourth to a third of it and gave the rest to a coworker.  Once put together with the pb and raisins it ended up being two big bites.  It was good.  But I like it better with celery.  And, sadly, the 3 berries at breakfast were the last of my strawberries.  But I have a lovely container of blackberries waiting to be used next.  Yum yum.  Oh, and the homemade sf cappuccino is just kind of "meh".  It needs to be worked on yet.  I think the sweeteners that I'd used (xylitol and stevia) were good, but the amount of cinnamon and instant coffee granules need to be worked out better as it's a bit strong.  Once this batch is gone I may make it again and, if it turns out good, I'll post the recipe.

Friday, 2/8/2013
B> scrambled eggs w/spam & mozzarella, 1 Ezekiel toast w/butter & jam, 7 blackberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> skipped
S> about 1/4c bowties & veggies mix, chicken/pork Italian sausage, couple bites cottage cheese, 3 thin slices off small pear, 1/2 small clementine orange
Snacks> 1mini sf chocolate, few Tbsps dark chocolate chips & almonds mixed

Breakfast was late, so skipped lunch. Not too shabby...  While I don't keep track of my water intake I do recognize that I don't drink enough throughout the day and will work harder at that.

Saturday, 2/9/2013
B> scrambled eggs w/spam & cheese, 7 blackberries
L> bunless burger, small sf Starbucks mocha
S> 2 slices very thin crust pepperoni pizza w/edges cut off, salad
Snacks> sf hot chocolate, 6 blackberries, 2 tiny sips of Starbucks Vanilla Spice latte

We were out and about today, hence the Starbucks. J got the Vanilla Spice latte and I couldn't resist trying it... twice.  Pizza wasn't the best choice.  I realize a more disciplined person would've just had the salad while out.

Sunday, 2/10/2013
B> 2slices Ezekiel toast w/butter, jam & cheese, 6 blackberries, 2 coffee w/h&h and stevia 
L> 1/3 apple slices, salami, mozzarella 
S> 2 fish tacos, 3 tortilla chips w/salsa, 1/2 clementine orange
Snacks> 1sf mini mint patty, Tbsp dark chocolate chips & few almonds, sf chocolate mint bar


I picked up a package of hair bleach for face yesterday.  I had been scouring Ulta's site and read a bunch of comments reviewers had made on Sally Hansen Creme Hair Bleach.  The one reviewer that mentioned having PCOS had me convinced when she said that it bleached even the coarse dark hair on her chin.  So this morning I tried it out.  You'd think I'd learn by now that most products just aren't able to live up to their claims. The photo is "before", just to give you some idea of what I deal with every single morning...  I had taken an "after" photo as well.  But it looked the same as far as the stubbly hair growth, worse because of the bad lighting.  (How's that for sexy, huh?)

Now for some fair and helpful information.

I have been using Equate (Walmart's brand) face lotions, which have improved my skin greatly when it comes to ingrown hairs.  What I've been using for more than the past year is the Healthy Face Lotion with Alpha-Hydroxy Acid and SPF15, and less frequently, the Oil-Free Ultra-Gentle Facial Moisturizer.  (They have a little blurb on each bottle that compares them to Neutrogena products.)  It seems that the Alpha-Hydroxy Acid products slough off enough skin cells to prevent ingrown hairs.  I say "products" because when I do use a facial cleanser, it also contains A-HA.  In the winter months here it is very dry and the skin around my mouth and chin gets very flaky.  To prevent the flaky skin I have to use A-HA products more sparingly than I would in the summer months and this is also why at times I use the Oil-Free Ultra-Gentle Facial Moisturizer.

If you suffer from this PCOS problem (i.e. infected/ingrown whiskers), give it a whirl.  If you experience this problem and have an effective method already, I'd love to hear about that, too.  This is the one PCOS symptom that drives me bonkers the most as it is one of the most visible.  Oh, oh, and I wanted to mention my experience as far as shaving goes.  I have not noticed that it has caused the hair to be thicker/coarser/darker.  (I suspect that that info was put out there more as a way to keep people buying hair removal creams or waxes, but then I am the daughter of a conspiracy theory nut.  No offense, Dad.)  What I think I noticed was that when I used to pluck (yes, every other night/day and it was a long process) the hair was more "lush", so I try not to pluck them anymore.  Aw, if only I could win the lottery and have laser...

Another week down. Link to wonderful zucchini muffins!

Sunday, Sept.16
B> fried eggs w/diced garden tomato & cheese, leftover strawberries & nectarine bits, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> 1 bunless hotdog, coffee w/h&h and stevia
S> Taco Toss
Snacks> hot tea, 1 mini sugar-free cheesecake w/low-sugar jam, 1 low-sugar almond coconut chocolate

Taco Toss is just using up the taco leftovers.  But rather than everyone using shells or chips, I made some Dreamfield's pasta and mixed that with the seasoned ground beef.  We then pile on the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.  This was just as good, maybe even better, than last night's taco supper!  To the right is a link to The Belly Fat Cure...Purple Rosy Style blog and if you do a search for cream cheese muffins you will find the recipe that I started with and altered a little to my tastes.


Mon., Sept.17
B> 1 mini sf cheesecake w/low-sugar jam, 1 egg, chai
L> leftover Taco Toss, cottage cheese, couple strawberries
S> bbq chicken, sweet & sour cabbage, tomato w/mozzarella, basil, olive oil & vinegar
Snacks> chai, 1 mini sugar-free cheesecake w/low-sugar jam, 1 sf raspberry chocolate, part of SoBe


Tues., Sept.18
B> scrambled eggs w/bacon, chai, 1 Ezekial toast w/butter & low-sugar jam
L> 1 mini sf cheesecake, 1 peach slice, small bowl chicken wild rice soup w/cheese
S> Culver's beef roast, small mashed potatoes & gravy
Snacks> chai, last 2 low-sugar almond coconut chocolates , Zero water, few strawberries

Wed., Sept.19
B> eggs w/cheese, 2 strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> taco salad w/about 2oz rice, cottage cheese, few bites pineapple
S> pork chops, sauerkraut, few tiny garden potatoes w/butter and s&p, two bites applesauce
Snacks> half a tiny apple w/pb, several mini low-carb chocolate chip cookies, chai, Zero water

Yeah, yeah.  I see it.  Too much snacking going on.  Too much fruit, too.  Oh, and a note regarding the chocolate chip cookies (recipe in previous post or two): Once in the fridge for about a week and poorly covered, they start to get crisp.  Ha ha ha.

Thurs., Sept.20
B> 2 mini sf cheesecakes w/several strawberries, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> leftover Taco Toss, cottage cheese, pickles, 2 bites watermelon
S> turkey "noodle" soup, coconut "cornbread" biscuit w/butter
Snacks> hot tea, last 4 mini low-carb chocolate chip cookies, Zero water, 1/2 apple w/pb

The turkey "noodle" soup was made using a spaghetti squash from the garden.  I steamed it in the microwave, used a fork to drag out strands and added them to the soup.  Not the same as noodles, but didn't miss the noodles either.  I made a cornbread for everyone else and a coconut biscuit for myself.  I knew I'd really want the cornbread so I replaced a half Tbsp. of the coconut flour with corn meal.  It actually ended up tasting the same as when I make a regular coconut muffin.  What a waste of carbs...

Fri., Sept.21
B> eggs w/cheese, 1 Ezekiel toast w/butter & jam, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> 1 chicken fillet, tiny crab apple off tree in garden
S> 2 salmon patties, 1/4c hashbrowns, 1/2c beet salad, sliced cheese
Snacks> 2 zucchini banana muffins, 1 cheesecake w/jam, sf mocha shake

Oh my.  But those muffins are delicious.  I had a very brown banana to use up so I squished it into the batter.  The muffins aren't nearly as low-carb as the original recipe, I suppose.  But I did get three more servings than what the original poster did when she'd made them.  So that's good, right?!?  I'll find and link to the recipe... HERE, at Your Lighter Side it is, though I altered it by adding the banana, pecans instead of walnuts, some dark chocolate chips and used xylitol instead of splenda and stevia in place of the xylitol.  Perfect moist texture when you consider it's made with coconut flour.  Not sure if the original would have the same texture or if the banana made that much difference.  The beet salad recipe came from Everyday Paleo.  I altered it by omitting the parsley (actually, I forgot it) and using much less cumin, probably about 1/4-1/2tsp.  We liked it well enough but agreed we like beets better with just butter and s&p.

Sat., Sept.22 
B> eggs w/bacon & hot pepper sauce, coffee w/h&h and stevia
L> 1 chicken fillet, 1 zucchini banana muffin, 1/2 apple w/pb
S> 1/2c roasted baby potatoes/broccoli/red pepper/garlic mix, pork loin slices, 1/2c beets, tomato/mozzarella/basil
Snacks> buttered popcorn, chai

Put the last few cheesecakes in the freezer so I wouldn't keep eating them.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Off to do the same with the zucchini banana muffins.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins (low-carb)

Have you ever had Herman Coffee Cake?  It's one of those batters that you mix and feed over the course of days.  It builds up such a wonderful yeasty flavor... Mmmm...  I digress.  Anyway.  I've been craving something sweet and baked for about the past week or two (PMS, of course... and then into PPMS, which is Post Premenstrual Syndrome... ha ha ha).  I thought about what I had in the cupboards/freezer/fridge and what I could make to temper that craving while looking through my binder of recipes.  I came to a slip of paper that a friend had handwritten a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe on.  Her recipe is nut free and egg free, but heavy on sugar and white flour.  I'd made these a couple of times in my previous life as a sugar junkie and knew they were excellent.  So I decided to play around with her recipe by first cutting it in half then making substitutions and adding the cream cheese filling.  Oh, and where I was heading with the Herman Coffee Cake bit was that these remind me of that wonderful treat my mother made when I was a child.  It was loaded with spice and studded with chocolate chips & walnuts then topped with a good soaking from a milk, brown sugar and butter combination.  It stayed moist for days.  This recipe yielded 12 muffins, which I store in the fridge and some in the freezer. 

















Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins
(adapted from friend's recipe)

Mix A:
1/2c pumpkin puree
1/4 + 1/8c almond milk
1/4c canola oil*
1/4c coconut oil
1/2c xylitol
1/4c stevia

Mix B:
1/2c coconut flour
1/2c flax meal
1/2c almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
4oz Hershey's Sugar-Free Choc.Chips

Mix C:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp sweetener**
1 egg
1/2 Tbsp coconut flour

Heat oven to 400.  Line 12 muffin wells with paper cups.  Make each mix in 3 medium mixing bowls.  Add Mix B to Mix A and combine well.  Divide batter evenly into muffin pan.  Make an indent in middle of each muffin with back of spoon.  Drop a scoop of Mix C into each indent.  Pop into oven for 15-20mns.

*Once I combined Mix A and Mix B, I realized that the coconut flour was making the batter extra thick.  I have a small amount of canola oil to use up, so I chose to add this to add more moisture.  Reason being that the original recipe from my friend actually called for 1c of oil and since I cut the recipe in half here, I figured a 1/2c total for oil.  I recall having made the original muffins with 1/2 the amount of oil called for and they'd turned out well then, too.  So the next time I make these I will replace that 1/4c canola with either an additional amount of fruit puree or almond milk.  Made as posted above, these are extremely moist.

**Use sweetener of choice.  While I realize that the use of artificial sweeteners is not something that Jorge Cruise advises (actually, he totally doesn't want you to do it), I used Da Vinci's French Vanilla Sugar-Free flavored syrup so that I could use what I've got on hand and get both sweetness and a little flavor from one ingredient.

Days 109-111

So the day after Christmas I returned to low-carbing.  I also weighed myself and was alarmed (well, sort of) to find I had gained 5 pounds.  Yes.  Five-freakin'-pounds!  Nothing like having to re-lose...

While I've been keeping it low-carb since the day after Christmas (Monday), I haven't bothered with recording what I've eaten.  Suffice it to say that I have gotten back to eggs for breakfast and the typical lunch and suppers that I'd been having prior to my sugar binge.  Thankfully it appears that a pound or so has moved on.  Additionally, I have been feeling ten times better than I had on the weekend.  A regular diet makes me feel so horribly, I don't know why I do it really.

It's D's (son's) birthday on Friday.  We'll be having pizza that I picked up from Walmart's deli and I'll be looking at getting him a cake tomorrow, probably from Sam's Club.  I think I'll pick up a frozen Bellatori Margarita Pizza for myself as I can eat a third of it and be within a proper s/c  range.  Not sure about the cake yet.  I'll see about getting myself an unsweetened alternative of some sort.

I still will post new recipes that I try.  Such as the Marinated Cucumbers that we had tonight with salmon patties and zucchini pancakes.  If you like them in the typical vinegar/sugar solution, you'll likely enjoy this milder alteration, too.

Marinated Cucumbers
(from Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book Of Low-Carb Recipes) 
1/3c bottled oil & vinegar salad dressing
1/4 tsp salt*
1/4 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 large cucumber, thinly sliced (about 3.5c)*
1/2 of a sweet onion, thinly sliced into rings (about 1c)*

Combine all in a bowl, cover and chill for 4-24hrs.  

*Made as instructed, serves 6 for 5g carbs each.  I virtually omitted the salt as I only gave one quick dash.  I used 2 medium cucumbers and only about 1/4 of a not-sweet-at-all-but-hotter-than-hell onion.

Bumper-Crop Zucchini Pancakes
(from BHG Biggest Book Of Low-Carb Recipes)
4 to 5 medium zucchini (about 1.5 lbs, about 5c)*
2 eggs
3/4c all-purp. flour
1/4c grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion*
1/2 tsp salt*
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Trim and shred zucchini.  Let drain of water for 15mns.  In large bowl, beat eggs with fork, stir in flour, cheese, onion, s&p, and garlic powder.  Stir in zucchini until just combined.  Grease hot griddle or skillet and spoon 1 Tbsp batter and spread it out to about a 4" circle.  Cook about 2mn on each side or until golden brown.  

*Made as instructed, serves 12 side-dish servings of two pancakes each at 8g carb per serving.  I omitted salt completely as the garlic powder offers enough saltiness.  I also only  used about 1/2 the called for amount of zucchini as it is what I had in my frozen package of shredded garden zucchini.  I had several green onions/scallions to use up in the fridge so that is what I used, white and green parts.

Day 41 on Belly Fat Cure and Two Recipes!

Breakfast> scrambled eggs w/ham & mozzarella & salsa, 1 slice Ezekial toast w/butter, coffee (s/c=0/1)
Lunch> skipped, not hungry
Snacks> 1 piece Pumpkin Snack Cake w/topping, 1 more piece pump.cake, coffee (s/c=2/1)

Supper> Jorge's Carne Asada Tacos (s/c=4/2)
Total s/c for today - 6/4

Pumpkin Snack Cake
(adapted from an adaption of Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars)
4 eggs
1 & 2/3c xylitol
1 packet stevia
1c canola oil
1 - 15oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
4c almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 & 1/2tsp cinnamon
dash each of ground cloves, nutmeg & ginger
1tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 325.  Spray a 9x13 pan with oil.
Beat eggs and sweeteners until light and fluffy.  Let sit for roughly 10mns so the xylitol will mostly dissolve.  Add oil and pumpkin and beat.  In another bowl mix the remaining dry ingredients until blended.  Add a third of the dry ingredients at a time to the egg mixture and beat each addition until smooth.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake approximately 45mns, checking for doneness.  Cool completely if frosting.  Cut into 24 pieces.

Cream Cheese Topping
(an adaption from an adaption of Paula Deen's icing)
8oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2c butter, softened
1c xylitol, powdered*
1tsp vanilla
1/4-1/2c heavy whipping cream

Mix all in food processor until light and fluffy.  (Add heavy whipping cream in slowly to get desired consistency.)  You can either frost with this or drop a dollop on top of your cake piece.  Keep refrigerated.
* I placed 1c xylitol in my food processor first and ran it until it became powdery.  Then I added the remaining ingredients. 

This was so good... and so filling.  I couldn't believe that that little piece made me feel full, but it did!  It's very moist and flavorful.  However, I did top mine with the cream cheese topping and think that without it, while still good, it likely wouldn't be anywhere near as good.  I also used the sugar/carb info that someone else had calculated.  I'm not sure that this recipe would even have the one sugar that I gave it because the recipe I adapted from used Splenda for a sweetener and I think that that is where the sugar count is from.  This is definitely a "keeper" and I believe I'll make it again.  I'll likely freeze a row or two as I am the only low-carber in our household.  Though you-know-who (Dad) ate it and didn't suspect a thing...

Jorge's Carne Asada Tacos
(Original is on pg.193 of The Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise.
*This is my very slightly adapted version.)
3 lbs. sirloin steak
1-2Tbsp Weber Kick'N Chicken seasoning
10 - 6" Mission Yellow Corn Tortillas
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4c chopped cilantro
Sides
3/4c canned Progresso black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2c LaVictoria Salsa Supreme (mild, we're wimps)
1/4c sour cream
Mission Tortilla Triangle chips (6 in a serving)

Heat grill to med-high.  Season steak with seasoning.  When grill's hot, cook the steak 5mns per side or until desired doneness.  Remove from grill, tent with foil and let rest 5-10mns, then slice across the grain in thin strips.

Warm tortillas.  Fill with steak slices, diced tomatoes, and cilantro.  Warm beans and serve alongside with chips and sour cream & salsa.

*I increased the amount of steak as Jorge's recipe said that it was to serve 4 and I needed to serve 6.  I learned that the 2lbs of steak in his recipe actually would've been plenty as we have lots leftover.  His recipe also calls for green onions.  I overlooked that.  I also discovered that we are not in the cilantro loving camp.  Yuck.  But I loved dipping my chips in the salsa with sour cream and a few bean... scrumptious!

Day 38 BFC & Pumpkin Pie Shake recipe!

Today I decided to bring the Pumpkin Spice flavor of Green Mountain Coffee that was provided to me in my Bzz kit, along with a coupon for each of the ladies that I work with.  Learn more about Green Mountain Coffee here.

To kill two birds with one stone, I am also bringing them each a sample of Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions Sensitive daily moisturizing cream that has a $1 off coupon attached.  I'm excited to see how they like the coffee and look forward to hearing reactions after they've tried the moisturizing cream.  I hope they like it as much as I do.

Although the skin products are fragrance free, this cream has the tiniest scent of... I'm not sure how to describe it other than as a light licorice scent.  I love it, but being fragrance free, it dissipates very quickly.  My skin's been very soft and those dry reddish patches that I typically get around my mouth and nose are unnoticeable since I've been using the Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions Sensitive daily moisturizer.

Breakfast> fried eggs, Spam, coffee w/cream & stevia (s/c=0/0)
Snacks> few almonds, Pumpkin Pie Shake (s/c=3/2)
Lunch> pork riblet, cottage cheese, pickles, 1/8c whole wheat pasta salad (s/c=2/1)
Supper> 2pcs. grilled chicken, SoBe Lifewater (s/c=0/1)
Total s/c for today - 5/4

?Not sure how to count the pasta salad that I had at work.  It was about 2-3 bites worth, had one broccoli floret, 1 sliced olive ring, and several pepperoni slices in it.  So the total s/c for lunch was a bit of a guess.?

Here is the recipe for my pumpkin shake:

Pumpkin Pie Shake
2c ice cubes
1 scoop Jay Robb vanilla whey protein powder
1/4c canned pumpkin (not pie filling, of course)
2Tbsp half&half
2Tbsp heavy cream
3/4c unsweetened almond milk
1 packet stevia sweetener
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp Chinese five spice powder

Blend all in blender.

This made a bit more than what fit in my glass.(Well, my son's glass...)But you could easily cut back on the ice to reduce the size and to strengthen the flavor a bit.  Just a note, too, I use Penzey's cinnamon and five spice.  According to my calculations this is equal to 2sugars/1carb serving.

Weight: 195lbs
I also wanted to make some note of PCOS symptoms.  While I haven't done this long enough to be sure... I think this little weight loss that I've had so far may have kick-started my menstrual cycle... I say may because with PCOS it's all abnormal or irregular.  While this may be too much info, (WARNING : DUDE, READ NO FURTHER!) the bleeding is actually more like it was when I was younger.  You know, normal like.  I was even overheard saying, "What a pretty bright red!" by family members.  The darkened spotty skin on my shins and below my underarms seems to be gone, or at least, I can't see it much anymore.  The scaliness, which runs up my spine, while not completely gone, is much less noticeable.  As it is between my underarms and (YES, I'M GOING TO SAY IT...) boobs!  However, the two symptoms that bother me the most have not appeared to have changed at all.  I'm still balding on my head and sporting a five o'clock shadow if I forget to shave/pluck...  Oh, and I haven't experienced heart palpitations for about a month.

Day 23 Belly-Fat Cure and Sausage Stuffed Squash

Breakfast> Vanilla Chai Shake, 1 slice Ezekial toast with pb&j (s/c=3/2)
Lunch> shredded pork, cheese, 1/4c rice, cottage cheese (s/c=0/1)
Snacks> SoBe Lifewater (s/c=0/1)

Supper> sausage stuffed acorn squash, 3 deviled eggs (s/c=2/1)
Total s/c for today - 5/5

This is not actually my plate.  It was my husband's.  But because I had to cut a smaller piece from a different half, it didn't look real pretty on my plate.  Whether you're following a low-carb and low-sugar diet or not, this was darn good!

The wonton strips listed in the recipe are called Fresh Gourmet Wonton Strips and were sold in the produce section of our grocery store. I believe 2T had only 4 carbs.


Sausage Stuffed Squash
2 acorn squash
4 Tbsp real maple syrup  
8 Tbsp wonton strips salad topper
1 (1 lb) tube Jimmy Dean sausage

Heat oven to 350F.  Clean and cut acorn squash in half.  Scrape out seeds and fibers.  Set each half cut side up in a roasting pan that has a lid.  Add a Tbsp of maple syrup to each half.  In a bowl, mix the wonton strips with the Jimmy Dean sausage, then divide sausage mixture among squash halves.  Add about a half-inch of water to the pan, cover, and bake for an hour.

Pilaf With Butternut

Pilaf With Butternut

2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1/3 c. orzo
1 T. minced garlic (heaping gob!)
1 c. jasmine rice
1 & 3/4 c. chicken broth
s&p, to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme, dried
2 c. diced butternut squash

Add olive oil and butter to a large skillet. Once butter's melted, add orzo, stirring often, until browned. (Only takes a couple of minutes.) Add garlic, rice, broth and s&p and thyme. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmering. Add diced squash and cover again and simmer until broth has been absorbed and butternut's tender, approximately 10-15 mns. Fluff with fork before serving. You could sprinkle on a little parmasen, too, before serving.