Carb Counters (No longer Calorie Counters)

Lab Results with my Endo

I was just emailed from my Endocronologist, Dr. Tobie Bresloff, and she was THRILLED with my lab results! This Gluten-Free / Grain-Free / Low Carb / Moderate Fat / Moderate Protein / Sugar Free way of eating is working!  She has also cut me back on the thyroid meds as well! 

She and I had discussed this way of eating about a year ago and she gave me the go-ahead to continue and said we would check at intervals. We have checked several times now, and here are the results to compare from this past August 2014 to January 2015. 

Here are some of the results:

Glucose Level average 

• Was - 163      Now - 116

Bun (Blood Urea Nitrogen Level [Kidney])

• Was - 22        Now - 19

Non-HDL Cholesterol 

• Was - 188      Now - 152

Triglycerides 

• Was - 238      Now - 145

Yes, I eat butter, bacon, eggs, cream and lots more yummo food to me. I get to eat the food I LOVE for a change! Foods that my body was craving... and for a reason! Now I do stray off of it sometimes, to be perfectly transparent with you. I am not a celiac so I will eat gluten sometimes in moderation, but I try to stay under 30 Net Carbs per day. (To figure that out you get the Carb Count - Fiber Count= Net Carb)   Okay, if your heads swims when it comes to mathematics, I just keep under 25 carbs per meal and I will most likely be fine. To sum it up easily: We are Carb Counters, not Calorie Counters.  It is so freeing too. Now before you go 'hrmph' in your mind, please look at the numbers above and know that I have lost much poundage too (look at the ticker to the right on the next column). That has been over the past few years. That's just the bonus.. not the agenda. 

We have switched to using more Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Flaxseed Meal and Xanthan Gum for thickening. We avoid Rice and rice flour because it shoots our blood glucose up to the high heavens. In our family of 5, we have two Type 2 and one Type 1 Diabetics. So food planning can be quite tricky sometimes. Then when you mix in food allergies and likes and dislikes... well, at times it leaves me scratching my head when trying to convert recipes. 

Some of us also have auto-immune thyroid issues. Three have Hashimoto's and one has both Hashimoto's and Grave's. Yes. Wow. So we watch on the soy, unsaturated oils and gluten consumption for those as well.

When I post recipes, please know that I have tested and sampled these recipes over and over. Some of the first batches were not consumption worthy. But I kept trying and have some really good ones now. I will try to update my Recipe Page this coming week for you who are interested. (Let me know in the comments!!)

Now that our eating is so much healthier, next I get to work on building muscle again. Yes, that makes me sigh too. It will be lots of work, but if I increase my muscle mass that I lost from the downtime from all the surgeries, it will help my body work correctly. I have gotten myself one of those Body Blades. I cannot do lots of cardio due to the Bilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis (from hence forward we will call it the 'Throat Thingy" haha) but I can walk on the treadmill and do some toning and isometrics too. Please, please pray for me as I start this up again. (approved by doc).

Prayer Corner:

Romans 12:1-2 (Message Bible) [Place Your Life Before God]

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants form you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Thank you Lord for my journey so far. I know that I can be quite headstrong. Please Holy Spirit, I will try to listen closer for that still small voice that has in the past resonated so loudly within me. Help me as I strengthen this temple that you have given me, so that I can effectively be a living witness all the days of my life. Amen.

Signed.... Christine

A Muse of the Remnant

Breakfast Anyone?

Breakfast Sammies

Today I wanted to get a jump on the upcoming week. I decided that I would make mornings more pleasant for everyone. They all love these breakfast sandwiches too! They are low-carb, grain free, sugar free and fantastic!

Muffin in a Minute

Here is a step-by-step description of how to make these:

These are super easy to make. Not even kidding. I use a microwave egg cooker that I purchased from WalMart. You can use a mug or a little bowl. The more narrow the container, the higher the muffin. I like mine to come out like buns, so I use something more shallow.

Here are the ingredients:

• 2 Tbs Almond Flour (Almond Meal can be used too)
• 1 Tbs Flaxseed Meal
• 1 Tbs Coconut Flour
• 1/2 tsp Splenda
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 2 tsp Oil (I use Flaxseed Oil, Coconut Oil or Olive Oil)
• 2 tsp Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 Large Egg

I whip up the wet ingredients.....

Then add the dry ingredients..... and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. This is because both Flaxseed and Coconut flours and the Xanthan Gum will thicken up quite a bit.

I now put the mixture into my microwave egg cooker and close the lid and  cook for 1 minute and 20 seconds.

After cooking, when you open up the egg cooker, the bun/muffin will pull from the sides a little bit. I flip it onto a cooling rack and let it cool off and dry out a little bit.

From here you can toast it, grill it; or just eat it like that!  Now wasn't that simple?!

Now let's begin to assemble the Breakfast Sammie....

1. Cut the bread in half
2. Place the pre-cooked sausage patty on the bread
3. Add the cheddar cheese (or whichever kind you like. My personal favorite is pepper jack)
4. Cook an egg in the microwave egg cooker by scrambling it with 1 tsp water and cooking for 1 minute. and then place it on the bun and put the sandwich together.

Mmmmm...  I package them up in separate baggies and then into one big one to conserve space in the fridge. In the morning they grab one and microwave for 1 minute and off they go to work!

These wonderful Breakfast Sammies only have 14 Total Carbs (8 Net Carbs)

Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 666
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 57 g	88 %
Saturated Fat 17 g	85 %
Monounsaturated Fat 8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 10 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 485 mg	162 %
Sodium 815 mg	34 %
Potassium 159 mg	5 %
Total Carbohydrate 14 g	5 %
Dietary Fiber 6 g	22 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 27 g	54 %
Vitamin A	16 %
Vitamin C	1 %
Calcium	28 %
Iron	21 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

There you go... You're welcome!