Handling the Holidays While On A Weight Loss Journey

Holidays can be hard when you are eating healthy.  You get a million questions about why you eat what you eat, or don't eat what you don't eat, you get "helpful advice" left and right (and usually from the very people that really ought to be taking their own advice), you get guilt tripped to eat some things you know you shouldn't... etc...

Generally, there are two ways that people tend to go for holidays. 1) they decide to just enjoy the day and eat whatever they want, as much as they want. Or 2) they stay the course and do what they gotta do to crush their goals. (Tho sometimes, they might feel a bit deprived.)

Honestly, I've done both. I ate and ate and ate till I was stuffed. And I stuck to my plan and I felt so damn deprived. I'd damn near be whining in my head about all the yummy stuff that I couldn't have. Both of those ways just aren't any way to live. 

I was a bit worried about Easter dinner, but I decided to just make a plan and stick to it. Because going off plan would absolutely have left me feeling like hot dog crap. No good. I know my favorites/triggers, the ones that get me into trouble. So what did I do? I worked around it. I found substitutes that were better choices but beyond delicious and didn't leave me feeling deprived. 

I know that I love dips and cheese spreads. There were so many I could've made, but I decided on THIS ONE because it was just too freaking cute to pass up. And while I would've eaten a whole sleeve of crackers with it pre keto, I was actually more than satisfied eating it on my veggies. That's a win right there!

Mac and cheese or potatoes au gratin are huuuge triggers for me. If I eat them, no amount of will power can keep me from eating more and more and more.  So I made Loaded Cauliflower. And ya know what? It tasted like a cross between potatoes au gratin and twice baked potatoes (which is great cuz I'm not that fond of cauliflower) and was perfectly delicious and filling. It hit the spot just right. 

Dessert is another trigger for me.. I HAVE to have dessert at a holiday meal. So this year I opted for a Keto Pound Cake with a lemon glaze and topped with strawberries and whipped cream. It, too, hit the spot in all the right ways. 

So here I am, hours after dinner and dessert, still satisfied, and NOT feeling deprived. In fact, I'm feeling damn proud of the choices that I made. And I know that I am that much closer to making my goals a reality. 

Loaded Cauliflower Bake

THIS... Let me tell you about this ridiculously delicious piece of low carb Heaven right here:

First, let me start out by saying that I am not. a. big. fan. of cauliflower. Like, if I can taste straight up cauliflower, I probably won't eat it.

I'm sorry cauliflower, it's not you, it's me...

No, actually, it's totally you. I just don't like you. You've disappointed me one too many times. You'll be ok tho, there are plenty of people that love you...
Moving on...

This stuff is like a magical taste explosion in your piehole. And it hardly tastes like cauliflower at all!! In fact, I'd say it tastes more like a cross between potatoes au gratin and twice baked potatoes. Seriously, like freaking potatoes. I could write a love letter to potatoes here, but I won't. Cuz we totally broke up and things could get weird.

This is total comfort food. Totally delicious. And totally low carb. Let's dig in, shall we?

Our All Star Cast of Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into small chunks
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 2 oz. of Cream cheese
• 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 5 slices bacon, (cooked very crisp and crumbled)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese 

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease, spray, or butter your baking dish and set aside. I used a 9x9 and it was perfect. 
2. Take your cauliflower chunks and place them in a microwave safe bowl with 2 Tbsp water and 2 Tbsp butter. Microwave until tender but not totally soft, stirring halfway through. This took about 8 minutes in my microwave. (Your time may vary based on your microwave and how big or small you chopped the cauli.)
3. Take the cauliflower out, let it cool for a couple minutes, and then mash it. You don't want it to be a smooth consistency. You want nice little chunks. Trust me on this. 
4. Mix in your sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan, Monterey Jack cheese, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, green onions, and bacon. Make sure you mix it well. 
5. Scoop your cauli mixture into your baking dish and top with the shredded sharp cheddar. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. 
6. Remove the foil and bake just until the cheese has gotten nice and bubbly and slightly browned. 
7. Serve that bad boy up and wait for your taste buds to explode! And then come on back here and let me know what you think! 

If you loved it as much as I did, remember that sharing is caring. So please feel free to share this with others!

The Perfect Time To Lose Weight...

Let me ask you a question...

WHAT. ARE. YOU. WAITING. FOR?!?

Are you waiting for the perfect day to get back on track? Or maybe you are waiting for life to get a bit easier before you commit to getting back on track? 

 Here's the thing, my friends: That perfect day? It's TODAY. Right NOW. 

If you're waiting for life to get easier before you get back on track? I have some bad news for you: That's never gonna happen. LIFE'S TOUGH- GET A HELMET AND DO THE DAMN THING! 

You probably already know this, but I'm going to say it anyways.. Waiting leads to more waiting which leads to... you guessed it: even more waiting. And suddenly it's next week, and then two months have passed by, and before you know it a year has come and gone.. and you're still exactly where you were before (or worse)... and you're still waiting, aren't you?

 STOP waiting and DO IT. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain! 

Isn't your health, your life, worth it?? Don't you want to be around for your loved ones for a long long time? Don't you want to be able to run around and play with your kids? To be able to get down on the floor and play with them AND be able to get right back up without struggling? To be able to do more fun things with your partner or friends? 

So, let me ask you again, 

what are you waiting for? 

And don't you tell me that it's not that easy, because yes it is. It truly IS that easy. You want to change? Buckle down and change. No one else can do it for you. Only you can. So let's go. Make the decision to start again TODAY. And then DOOOO IIIIIT. No more excuses. 

YOU deserve better than that. 

YOU ARE better than that. 

Know your worth and MAKE. IT. HAPPEN. 😘

Low Carb White Enchilada Bake

One of our favorite family meals for a few years now has been Easy Cheesy White Enchiladas. It was a quick and easy meal that was total comfort food deliciousness. When I would make this, I always had to make 2 or 3 pans of it because everyone would absolutely devour it. Even so, leftovers were rare.

I have had such a taste for it for the last several months, but now that I'm low carb (and my middle kiddle has decided to follow suit) I knew this was not a meal that I could make for all of us to enjoy. 

Or could I? I mean, there had to be a way to make this low carb.. obviously removing the tortillas would help a lot. But what about the rest of the ingredients? Could I even make a roux without flour? 

So, I set to work to find out. And you know what? It can be done without changing too much. And it was even less work than making the original carb heavy version. And the kicker? It turned out absolutely delicious with only 3.6 net carbs for 1/6th of the pan! Definite score!!

If you are living the low carb lifestyle and looking for some ultra yummy comfort food, look no further cuz I've got your back! 

Ingredients:

•  6 chicken thighs, boneless skinless, cooked and shredded
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp super fine almond flour
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum 
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 (4 oz) can of diced green chilies
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Now that we've got the all star ingredients, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. 

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a baking dish. (9x13 works well)
2. Mix together the shredded chicken and 1/2  cup of the shredded Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup of the Mozzarella Cheese. Place this into your baking dish. 
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the almond flour. Cook for a minute just to cook out the floury taste. Whisk in beef broth until smooth. Add in your xanthan gum and whisk well. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until thick and slightly bubbly but NOT fully boiling. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the sour cream, chilies, Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack and 1/2 cup of the Mozzarella cheese. Mix very well.
5. Pour evenly over the shredded chicken mixture, give it a bit of a stir to coat the chicken and top evenly with remaining Monterey Jack cheese. Sprinkle with a touch more Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes til cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

That's it! Easy Peasy, right? My daughter and I ate this as is, in a bowl on top of some baby spinach. Yum! For my hubster and teen, they ate theirs by scooping it up with tortilla chips. Delicious either way, I'm sure! 

If you try this out, please come on back and let me know in the comments below what you thought! I'd love to hear from you. 

(Depending on the brand of ingredients you use, your carb count may differ from mine. I entered all my ingredients in by brand and I got 3.6 net carbs.)

Love and Light! 

RyanAnn

Losing a friend..

I got word this morning that a friend of mine had passed away. Being that today is April Fools Day, I was sure it was a cruel joke. Turns out, it wasn't..

Alex radiated love. And all she wanted was love in return. She was a strong woman, tough as nails. She had beaten cancer more than once. She was a great single mom to 5 beautiful kids. Things weren't always easy for her, but she tried to make the best of what she had. 

It wasn't always roses with Alex and I. In fact, when we were in high school,  (she was a year ahead of me) she actually used to pick on me and make fun of me. I mean, she was downright nasty to me. (Come to find out that she didn't remember any of that!) But, we all have done things when we were young and stupid that we aren't proud of. So through the wonder of Facebook (and some forgiveness, I suppose) we reconnected and became friends. And I'm happy that we did. 

We bonded over our weird preference of having our kids home during spring break or winter break, or summer vacation. (Most moms we knew dreaded breaks and couldn't wait for their kids to go back to school.). We bonded over our love of baking and cooking and doing so with our kids. Over how much we loved being moms. Over actually loving taking care of the man in our lives. Over our absolute love of God while living in such a dark world.. I honestly think we were both 50's housewives deep down inside that were born in the wrong generation. lol She was my partner in homemaking crime. We always meant to get one of her daughters and one of my daughters together to bake some yummy stuff.. Sadly it never happened.. and now it never will.

She came with me a few times to skate with my Roller Derby team. She was so excited about it and it seemed to be freeing for her (as it is for most of us). And while skating, she seemed to come even more alive, if that was possible. But, life got in the way and she wasn't able to do it anymore.

Over time, we hung out less.. Soon, fun and light hearted phone calls turned into hours of listening to her complain... I felt bad, but damn it, I had a ton of my own stuff going on as well. And it was proving to be impossible to help her with her issues while still being able to keep a handle on mine. 

As great of a person as she was, (and she really truly was!) unfortunately drama had a way of following her wherever she went. And if I'm being honest, sometimes I felt that she thrived on it. It offered excitement, ya know? I didn't judge her for it tho, because we all have faults. I know I sure do! But after a while, I had reached a point in my life where I was desperately trying to rid my life of all drama and negativity because it was sucking me in and pulling me down and I couldn't allow myself down that road again. (Not just from her, but from all directions) so I started distancing myself. I didn't want to totally leave her hanging so we'd still talk, just not as much.

(As a side note: None of this is to say that she was a bad person. She wasn't. She was a truly great person and had a truly awesome soul. She radiated love and light most of the time. But she let life dull her shine and beat her down. This should be a lesson to all of us! We all have issues but NEVER let the world dull your shine! No matter what!!)

Then, life started getting in the way on my end. I would see a missed call from her and mean to call her back, and before I knew it, a week had passed. And then two. In her quest to be loved, she had a habit of finding crazy guys that were no good for her. They'd turn mean and crazy and controlling and she'd eventually have to leave Facebook for a while and then create a new account with a different alias so they wouldn't find her. This last time, I wasn't sure if it was really her or one of the crazy guys pretending to be her. So I didn't accept the friend request. The phone number I had for her was no good anymore and so I had no way of getting a hold of her. So I waited to hear from her. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have moved Heaven and earth to get ahold of her..

Damn it, man... She had been on my mind and my heart for months, but I couldn't reach her. So I waited to hear from her thinking eventually she'd reach out to me again. She call. Or text. Or stop by. Or show up to a derby practice. But she never did get ahold of me.. 

Then I got this news...

I'm not sure what took her.. if it was cancer again, or something else. But the how doesn't matter. The how doesn't change the fact that this world lost another light. And let's face it, this world NEEDS light. 

I'm so lost in emotion right now. So many thoughts are running through my head. So much hurt in my heart. So many unanswered questions. And regret.

Regret... I fucking hate that word. I try to live without regrets, but this chapter is full of them. Could I have helped her? I wish I would have called her back more often. I wish I wouldn't have let life get in the way. I wish we wouldn't have lost touch months ago.. I wish I could've been there for her.. I wish, I wish, I wish... I wish...

Now, all I can do is hope that she's at peace. I hope that she is at the feet of our Father, who she so dearly loved. And that ALL she feels is the love that she longed for. And I hope that one day, I'll see her again and I can tell her that I love her and that I'm sorry for not being aware of what she was going through while we were out of touch... That I'm sorry for not being there... if only I would've known..

If only....

If you have been distant from a friend or a loved one, whether just because life has gotten in the way or if it was over a spat, get back in touch. Because tomorrow is not promised to any one of us and you just might not get another chance.

Nothing but love and light to you, Alex. I will miss you more than you know.