Moday - Funday !

Yesterday was my post-birthday outing with my Aunt Carol from Mississippi. We ate at Olive Garden.




I had the Grilled Chicken Spiedini Skewered chicken marinated in Italian herbs and extra-virgin olive oil. Served with broccoli and grilled vegetables. a nice 21 carbs.

We visited my brother in the hospital. He is now out of ICU and in a private room. Please continue to pray for him.

For supper, I had a hamburger patti, on two slices of the bread machine bread, I made yesterday.

I exercised at the gym for 1 1/2 hours. Still not back to my 'old self' in exercising, but slowly getting there !

It's a COLD day here in the Big Easy...

Barely making it out of the 50's today. The weather is crazy. 80 degrees one day, 50's another. No wonder everyone is SICK.

So I'm on day three of my meds. They are finally starting to kick in from the upper respiratory infection I got on my birthday. I'm still not exercising, but hope to be doing so tomorrow at the gym.

For breakfast, I ate two scrambled eggs on wheat toast.

Lunch was a mixed meat sandwich on wheat.

I've found a new DIFFERENT recipe for homemade low carb bread I'm going to try in my breadmachine this afternoon. Details to follow :)

Have A Blessed Day !

Bayoubabe

A Scenic Bayou-cise !!

I just got back from a refreshing 2.5 mile walk along the levee.

It was nice to see the environmental scape as I passed along.

An egret was busy sunning ..

For lunch today :

Broccili with cheese (Green Giant Steamers )

Strawberries with whipped cream

Mixed meat sandwich (turkey, ham & cheese) on my toasted low carb breadmachine bread. (Doesn't my bread look like a pair of hot pants ?? LOL )

I am HUNGRY !!

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For supper, I ate 1/2 cup corn, one slice tomato with hillshire farm cheese on top. Hillshire farm summer sausages cut up. a bag of 100 calorie popcorn and 1/2 slice of my low carb breadmachine bread.

Monday : Bon Appetit !!

For Lunch today, I ate two sunny side up eggs and a bacon , lettuce and tomato sandwich on my low carb breadmachine bread.

Dinner, one cheeseburger patti and five skinless boneless char broiled chicken nuggets, with 2 tablespoons of peas and a little bit of mashed potato.

I exercised for one hour with 'Fit TV' (cable channel) and walked 20 minutes on the treadmill.

You gain a few -- loose a few.

Went to the gym & worked out for two hours this morning. I weighed myself and it said I had gained two pounds !! GRRRRR.

I guess since I had not been to the gym since last Wednesday, it is starting to show. This week I upped my carb intake because I thought i was good I had lost the 30 pounds... well, I'm going to have to reevaluate THAT train of thought.

For todays lunch, I had tuna fish on my homemade low carb bread & some ground meat cooked with egglplant.

Quite a combo aye ?

The weather is beautiful and parades are rolling today. Yall have a Blessed One !@

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Tonight we went to the Bacchus Parade in New Orleans, double decker floats & throws ! I got hit in the side of the head by my eye with a bunch of beads about three feet in length. They knocked me off of my feet and I was dazed a wee bit. We had quite a haul of beads and stuffed animals. Our kids enjoyed their first REAL night time parade in UPTOWN in The Big Easy.

On the way back home, we stopped by Wendy's. I had a double hamburger patti cut up into one of the $1.50 salads on the side. It was pretty tasty.

We got in more exercise, as we had to actually WALK to our car and the parade route.

Wheeeeeee !!

Bayoubabe

One step forward, two steps back..

Just when I thought our son was getting BETTER, he is still sick with his sinus infection (cough now), so I spent the majority of the afternoon at the doctor's office and waiting for prescriptions to be filled (he's on THREE). I just want him to get well... He gets SO tired in the evening , he is in bed for 7:30 - 8:00 pm

Today, I went to the gym and worked out for an hour.

For lunch I made a hamburger patti, on my homemade bread with lettuce tomato and pickles.

For supper, I made a mixed meat sandwich consisting of turkey, ham, etc and a slice of cheese on 2 slices of wheat bread.

I"m just pooped out after this afternoon of traveling. It rained most of the day here as well, so it kinda set the mood I am in. Can you tell ??

Low Carb Diets - More than Just a trend ??

Good Morning ! Another BEAUTIFUL day here in da Big Easy !! For your reading and viewing pleasure....

Webmd.com has a plethora of low carb info this morn :)

The low carb diet craze is going strong with books like the south beach diet topping the best seller list. Now food-manufacturers are getting in on the "low carb" trend

http://www.webmd.com/video/low-carb-foods?ecd=wnl_day_020709

High Protein, Low Carb Diets

http://women.webmd.com/guide/high-protein-low-carbohydrate-diets

Best Foods to Fuel your workout

http://www.webmd.com/video/workout-foods?ecd=wnl_day_020709

Have a Blessed Day !

Bayoubabe

Takin' It Easy...

After five days at home with a sick kid, today was the day to venture out. I exercised for two hours at the gym this morning, so you can imagine my appetite.

As shown in the picture above, are the ingredients. I don't usually picture ingredients, but I think you get a better idea if you see them.

Was not in the mood for lettuce and tomato, so I added a few peanuts on the side. Of course, the sandwich is made with the low carb bread from yesterday's baking experience !

On a good note, I lexercised for two hours at the gym todday AND I lost another pound. I now weigh in at 136, but this was 10+ days with out weighing in and five of the last days with No gym workout. Hey, at least it's something , right ?

Hope your day is a great one !

Bayoubabe

Low Carb Slow Cooking .... Today's dish -- Italian Chicken

The loaf of low carb bread I made in the bread machine this afternoon came out wonderful ! Check out the height on that puppy !

The crock pot slow cooker low carb meal consisted of veggies and skinless boneless chicken breasts. Boy those breasts were SO tender, they practically fell apart. And the flavors, oh my ! I threw in a can of Meir Glen oven fired tomatoes.. It was simply carbilicious !!! To even out the dinner plate, I had some lettuce and tomato topped with Ranch dressing !

This is my first low carb slow cooker meal.. I cant wait to try another.. What's your favorite low carb slow cooker meal ?

Back in da Saddle Again....

I'm back in the saddle again

Out where a friend is a friend

Where the longhorn cattle feed

On the lowly gypsum weed

Back in the saddle again

Oh my goodness ! I feel like such a lonesome tumbleweed.

Its been the most hectic four days of this year. (and the year's just begun !). I'm back in the saddle again. Our youngest was sick for FOUR days... yes count them. I've been w/o sleep for a majority of three of them. Did he have the flu ? Strep ? Nope. He just had a really bad sinus infection -- so bad he had fever of 103+ for the last four days that never broke. Things got so bad yesterday, that I did the suppository thang, as he was beginning to throw up. FINALLY the fever broke last night. Just how many doses of Tylenol and Motrin did he have ? I failed to count it was that many.

Guess things have a way of slowing us down, don't they ? Not only did it slow my son down (We are catching up on three days of missed schoolwork here). I have not been to the gym since last Friday ! I have been doing the treadmill when I could, but just did not muster up the energy to do the Leslie Sansone DVD's.

I plan to go to the gym tomorrow (crossing fingers here and praying he's better tomorrow enough to go to school). and I'm going to the gym Friday as well. I doubt I've lost any weight, but hey, I know I haven't gained any, so that's good, right ?

I need something to hold onto here. My sanity -- oh wait @! I think that left on the second day.

Cooking-wise.. I have a loaf of low-carb bread baking in the bread machine and a low carb recipe consisting of boneless skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. (Can't wait to try this as it is my FIRST low carb slow-cooker recipe. IF things come out good. I'll post pics.)

Thank you for your patience. I know mine went out the window DAYS ago !

Have a Blessed Day !

Bayoubabe

Like "Alfalfa"..

Sometimes kids say the 'dardnest' thangs.. (quote from Art Linkletter here).. If you old enough to remember Art AND remember Alfalfa, from 'Our Gang.'..and "ALF" then you'll appreciate this tiny story...

My 9 year old said the kids at school were calling him "Alfalfa" , and 'why would they call him a plant ??"... So I tried to explain to him that plants have many qualities, etc. but that was NOT why they were calling him that, and proceeded to google "Alfalfa" and showed him who the kid was. His 'HAIR STICKING STRAIGHT UP' That got him the name, because our son has had hair like that since he was a baby, it just sticks straight up, unless you put some detangling cream or something in it every morning.

So then I showed him "ALF"... and he laughed at our space alien friends looks.... So when they call him "Alfalfa'., and can shoot back with "ALF"..

YES, I explained to him that name calling is NOT a good thing and they were making fun of him, and he knows its all in jest.... so... let THEM google "ALF".. LOL

Have a Blessed Day !!

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For lunch :

2 Jimmie Dean Sausages

Chicken salad on my low carb homemade bread

Five strawberries.

I exercised for one hour at the gym today.

For supper :

Ham on my low carb bread. 100 calorie popcorn.

Lunch & Dinner -- anyone ??

Dinner

I'm SO ready for today's lunch. My homemade bread machine low carb bread, romaine lettuce, tomato, pickles, chicken breast & Kraft mozzarella cheese slices. For dessert : 100 calorie cheeto puffs and cantaloupe slices. My bread will be adorned with Hickory Farms Sweet Hot Mustard.

Its quite a pleasant morning, temps in the low 70's, sun is trying to peek through here.

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For dinner, I had mesquite Chicken bites (skinless boneless pieces), Lettuce & tomato salad with Kraft dressing, and some fresh snap beans I purchased from the farmer's market over the weekend smothered in onions and ham. Bon Appetit !!

How is your day going ?

"Toned" Down !!

I exercised to Leslie Sansone's 5 mile DVD this morning at home (bout an hour). Also went to the gym to work out for about two hours. I did bout an hour of cardio (bicycle, elliptical, & treadmill), followed by an hour of the weight machines. ( I worked on my tummy, arms, and legs)

I weighed in at 137 today, DOWN BY 1 !! (And who thought "1" Was such a LONELY number after all??) When you add up the '1's" they are GREAT !!! So far, I've lost a grand total of 27 pounds since Oct. 7. .. and kept it off.

For lunch today, I am having tuna and egg salad sandwich on my low carb homemade bread. (I made another loaf yesterday.) Fresh strawberry and cantaloupe on the side.

Did anyone happen to notice the figures on those guys and gals at the Screen Actors Guild Awards Last Night ?? Wowza !! I just loved all those bodies, and they were not only toned, but did NOT in any way look 'muscular'.. that's how I want to end up... all over toned. I have the giggles in the back of my arms, and this is a new area that I want to firm up.

Any suggestions for exercises ?? Or any url's that have video's for them ?

Anyone know when we are expecting Jimmy Moore back ?? I miss his Low Carbin blogs !!

Keep the comments a comin !

Bayoubabe.

"Teas" & "Fuze" Me

Harry left a comment on yesterday's blog about teas. I love teas ! Yes, especially when you are feeling like crap, teas have a way of working magic on you.

My favorite brands are Yogi Tea and Celestial Seasonings teas. I like chamomile organic Yogi Tea & Candy cane lane green tea & Gingerbread spice Herbal caffeine free Celestial Seasonings teas.

Thanks Harry, for stopping by my blog, and posting such a sweet suggestion to make me feel better.

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Onto another subject..

I just love Fuze Drinks... they are low carb, come in a variety of flavors and offer an alternative to the water or tea drinker. HOWEVER, It was not until I actually LOOKED on the label and noticed that in little letters "LOW CARB", but other than that, they look the same. I thought ALL FUZE drinks were low in carbs.

I am kinda like the gal that makes groceries, and brings home tomato PASTE instead of tomato sauce. Cest la vie !!

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I exercised for two hours at the gym today AND walked 4 miles with Leslie Sansone walking DVD.

For lunch, I had chicken salad on my low carb breadmachine bread. I had Cheetos puffs 100 Calorie packs for a snack.

For supper, I am planning on eating the other half of my Chef Salad with Kraft dressing.

Have a Blessed Weekend !

Today, I exercised for 1 1/2 hours at the gym. I intend to do the treadmill for 20 minutes later on today.

For lunch, I had string beans with diced ham. A hamburger fresh off the bbq, lettuce, tomato and my homemade low carb bread. I am also topping my bread with the sweet hot mustard from Hickory Farms.. (amazing stuff !) I have different cheeses : Smoked, cheddar, and 'three cheese onion wedge slices -- consisting of Monterey jack, aged & mild cheddar cheese, also compliments of Hickory Farms.

Their 75% off sale may still be going on at http://www.hickoryfarms.com/, OR check your local mall if the booths are still set up there to save on shipping.

I"m feeling a bit under the weather today, congested head and drippy nose.. but hey at least I got in the workout, and LOST ANOTHER POUND !! Yippee.! Now, I'm weighing in at 138, for a total of 26 POUNDS LOST , since Oct. 7th, 2008.

Not by "Bread" Alone...

Today's Low Carb 2 lb Bread Machine Loaf !! Yeah !!

If I had to rely on my bread machine to make the perfect low carb bread recipe... I'd be starving by now !! This is my fourth attempt at making low carb bread in my 1.5 - 2 lb. bread machine. It seems EVERY low carb bread recipe (INCLUDING the ones in my low carb book) call for ONE POUND Loaves ! I've tried doubling a one pound recipe before, with little success.

I received an interesting low carb bread recipe on Jimmy Moore's Low Carb Discussion Board

http://www.recipezaar.com/Best-Low-Carb-Bread-Bread-Machine-102631

"Best Low Carb Bread"

I cliked on the ingredient 'dry yeast' in the recipe, and it brought up a definition.

" Active dry yeast comes in envelopes, jars or bulk and can be regular or quick rising "

So , I decided NOT to use my bread machine yeast, and went with the Fleishman's regular yeast.
I doubled the recipe, as yall suggested to make a 2 lb. loaf.

It looks so far so good in the bread machine. I'll let yall know in a few hours. Thanks for all of the tips !

Bayoubabe

I'll know in three hours if this works !!

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For lunch today, I had homemade chili. Not sure about the carbs, but I had bout 3/4 cup, so I do think it must be less than 30 carbs, and I had a couple of saltine crackers to boot.

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The bread today actually rose ! It was great in height, and texture. It had a beautiful light crust.

On the downside, I found it needed a bit more salt and I only used ONE of the Splenda, when I should had used TWO. (I read a review that if you used two it would be too sweet... so I'll know better next time.. Enjoy the pics, I'm stoked :))

Off to church now !!

Blessings,

Bayoubabe

"The King"

Seemed we just celebrated a Happy Birthday to the Eternal King, and today's birthday is Elvis, "The King of Rock and Roll.' In New Orleans, on Jan. 6th, it's known as King's Day or the 12th night, and we begin to start rolling out the 'king cakes

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/KingCake.htm

to introduce to the entire world, that Mardi Gras season is beginning !! Soon parades will be rolling, and bayoubabe will hit the streets and party with the best of them !

Whether the 'kings' of this world are celebrities, athletes, crowned heads, or tycoons, they come and go. Their influence may be immense, and their followers fanatically loyal, but it doesn't last forever. I think one of the many things we do unique down here in New Orleans, is that the kids are out of school for an ENTIRE WEEK during the Mardi Gras Holiday. What a blast !!

Now if someone could only invent a low-carb king cake ?? Perhaps one exists !

For breakfast this morn, I had Jimmie Dean Sausages on wheat bread.

For lunch, I had a grilled chicken salad. It was yummy.

Hickory Farms, Oh My !!!

I exercised for two hours at the gym today, and came home to this wonderful Hickory Farms Plate Lunch !!

I had a great time at lunch today. I took some of the Hickory Farms Beef Summer Sausage and sauteed it on my indoor grill. The bread you see to the right is the oatmeal molasses bread from the bread machine. I had some lettuce and tomato on the side (made myself a sausage sandwich!). I also had some Hickory Farms smoked cheese. Up top of the plate is those Green Giant Vegetable Medley (8 carbs).

I was so full just from eating what you saw on the plate.

For supper, I had a Mc Donald's cheeseburger patti & a Blue Bell sugar free popsicle.

Enjoy !

P.S. Exciting things are going on at http://www.hickoryfarms.com/ where almost everything is 75% off. Get an extra 15% off your order with code 849358. APO/FPO shipping is free. Prices start at $3←Warm & Hearty Welcome Gift Box $6.25 (Reg $25)The Chocolate Collection $5 Finest Fudge Collection $5 Sugar Free Cherry Cordials $3.50Sugar Free Chocolate Collection $3.50Fruitful Gift Box $7.50 Iced Petits Fours $4.75Cheese Ball combo Gift Box $6.25 Family Get Together Gift Box $12.50 Perfect Hostess Gift Basket $10Reduced Sugar Vanilla Torte $3 Dobosh torte $4.75 http://www.hickoryfarms.com/ WOW WOW WOWUpdate: The code 849358 is hit or miss. Some report it working, others say no. This is a perfect opportunity to send a nice gift to someone in the military since prices are so cheap, and shipping is free to APO/FPO addresses. If you don't have a soldier address, check http://www.anysoldier.com/, which is a wonderful site for supporting the troops.

Down by TWO !!!

How low can I go ???

Today was weigh-in day at the gym. I felt pretty good after loosing one pound last week, as I exercised more, but it took TWO weeks to loose that one stubborn pound.

Imagine to my amazement, as I stepped on the scale this morn, and lost a total of two more pounds !!! Yep, I guess changing up the exercise routine (doing the weight machines first, and doing more reps, adding minutes to the cardio) is starting to pay off.

I now weigh 141 pounds. Down by 23 pounds since October 7. I'm so stoked !!!

To 'celebrate' my accomplishment, I had chicken salad on my bread machine oatmeal/molasses bread. I also had smothered down some snap beans with onions and ham, so I finished up the rest of those. Topped it all off with a cold glass of Diet Coke. I feel really full right now, and so dern excited, -- I'm about to bust.

I worked out for two hours at the gym this mornin... so I'm "good to go" as they say. Now, if I could only find the perfect low carb bread machine bread that actually RISES , I'd be all set !

Have a Blessed Day, everyone! :)

"DOH !!!" Moment...

I don't have senior moments -- I have "DOH" moments...

I kept wondering WHY my bread baked in the bread machine would not RISE , or had a different texture to it, -- well today something OPENED my eyes.. and yes, Virginia, there really are some "DOH" people out there, and I AM ONE OF THEM...

Today, I got the ingredients for "Mom's Oatmeal Molasses Bread'' in the book "500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender. I got all excited, measuring each item meticulously... plugged in the bread machine, added the bread machine yeast and sat back to read this book, further into the 'bread making' section..

This recipe, Dana said was, " the decarbed version of the bread that won her mom first prize at the county fair.. and had the BEST texture of any low carb bread she knew of...'' so how could I go wrong ??

Further reading OPENED MY EYES... At the beginning of the bread making chapter, said 'these recipes all use plain old activated yeast -- NOT 'BREAD MACHINE' OR RAPID RISE YEAST. I can't guarantee the results if you use another sort of yeast.

So there it was, right in front of these eyes.. all along.. so I hurried to the store to get the correct 'yeast', and just dumped it into the machine. I mean whats the worst that could happen ? A yeasty bread ? The bread rises so tall, it makes the lid go UP ? lol.. Stayed tuned, I'll let yall know.

P.S. These recipes call for a ONE POUND LOAF machine. Mine is a 1.5 to 2 pound loaf, so.. I'm experimenting this time also to see if the 1.5 pound loaf setting will work with the one pound loaf ingredients. Who knows AYE ?? LOL

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The Rest of the Story...

Ok, so it did NOT rise like it should, or maybe it did, I'm not sure. The loaf is REALLY small, but it IS a one pound loaf, so anywho, it IS very good tasting, and the crust is awesome... ONly thing is it did not poof up and rise so yall know i"m gonna half to fix me another loaf real soon :)

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Ok I worked out at the gym for an hour this morn, rode my bike around town here, and did the treadmill for 20 minutes at home.

I had the lovely Jimmy Dean sausages on a slice of wheat late in the morn, which held me over till evening, and then I had a couple slices of the bread I made today, and I smothered down some green beans with onion and ham and its GOOD also.

So, let's hope no more DOH !!! Days !!

Bayoubabe