Comfort me dear food...

Yesterday was tough...I covered a high volume chiropractic office, and adjusted 60 patients!! Just so you can fully understand, the busiest day in my practice was when I had 6 patients in one day. Now granted, I spend approximately 45 minutes with each patient, but still! 60?!? The morning was slower than the afternoon, which was nice because I got used to the pace...or so I thought. The afternoon was not only busier, but an hour longer. By the end, I felt like I couldn't really formulate a sentence. I needed to be comforted, so the first thing that popped into my head was how nice it would be to stop for some greasy fast food. I knew I wasn't going to, but sometimes I am shocked at my food response to stress. I never thought I was an emotional eater...just that I really liked food. :) But I, also, never really paid attention that closely, and the response was so natural that it never stood out as a poor response to stress.

So, instead of a fat-laden, addiction-filling, heart-attack-in-a-sack dinner, I had leftovers from the previous night. I know, thrilling, right? Ahhhh, but it was thrilling...a stuffed green pepper. YUM! It hit the spot, and soon after I was asleep. Here's the recipe:

MAKE ME STUFFED PEPPERS
2 large green peppers, halved lengthwise
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped, 1 1/4 ounces
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato, chopped, about 2 ounces (*I used canned diced tomatoes)
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (*I used shredded Asiago)
2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping (*I used sliced mozzarella)
I added: dried parsley, fresh basil and ricotta cheese

In a large pot, bring about half a potful of water to a boil. Add the peppers and boil for 3 minutes; drain. In the same pot, brown the hamburger, onion and garlic. Drain the fat and stir in the tomatoes and seasonings. Cook until the tomatoes are hot; remove from the heat and stir in the 4 ounces of cheese. Put the pepper halves in a greased 8x8" baking pan. Put a couple tablespoons of ricotta cheese in the bottom of each pepper then fill with the meat mixture. Layer the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

By the way, this is from a great website - http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html . She has wonderful recipes!

Colleen's Top Ten

Reasons to GIVE UP CARBOHYDRATES!

1. They make you crave more carbs
2. Excess turns into fat
3. They don't keep you satiated, so you will be hungry sooner than if you had meat and vegetables
4. Excess intake causes insulin resistance so cells can't get the glucose they need
5. High levels of blood glucose is damaging to the arteries
6. Excess carbs (not fat) will raise cholesterol
7. Sugar feeds the "bad bacteria" in your gut allowing them to proliferate
8. Many are also filled with trans-fats...baked goods, crackers, etc.
9. Grains are inflammatory
10. Excess affects nitric oxide, which can raise blood pressure

Day 3 Low Carb

First things first...I passed on cherry pie last night!! Go me!! Even better...it was easy to do! Now, if it was chocolate peanut butter pie, it may not have been as easy. More good news...I've lost 3 pounds since Friday!!!! I know, I know, I'm only supposed to be weighing myself on Tuesdays, but I was too curious. I've had a few moments over the past couple days where I feel sorry for myself that I can't have carbs, then my mind tries to wander down the path of "am I really going to be able to keep this up?", but I'm working hard to switch my thoughts from "I want it, but I can't have it" to "I can have it, but I don't want it." I also want to move away from looking to food to fill an emotional need. Last night, I was cooking for my boyfriend's son and became very aware of how often I would have taken just a little bite of something previously. I kept having the urge because it is a behavior that I do without even thinking, but I was successful in resisting the urge.

So, what have I been eating? Eggs, tuna with celery, roasted cauliflower (YUM!!)...I also made a low-carb meatloaf using venison and spicy pork rinds. Here is the recipe:

Low-Carb Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup crushed pork rinds

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 can tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup diced onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients.

Transfer mixture to shallow baking pan or loaf pan. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Servings: 8
According to MasterCook:
Calories: 318
Fat: 26 g
Protein: 18 g
Carbohydrate: 3 g
Fiber: 1 g
Cholesterol: 105 mg
Sodium: 362 mg

I didn't have enough pork rinds, so it was a little too wet and fell apart, but it was very good and definitely a keeper! I'll tweak the recipe the next time I make it because it needed more flavor.

I'm currently baking a spaghetti squash, and will most likely be stir-frying a bunch of veggies to serve over it. Oh, I'm also making potato salad for a family birthday party today, but I won't be having any.

Quick question for you guys...should I share my actual weight? I've seen other blogs that do, but I'm a little nervous to do that because a lot of people that I know read this and I'm not sure how ready I am for everyone to know how much I weigh. Do you feel it's a necessary thing to do in this situation? I want to be as helpful as I can to people, and as transparent as I can be so this is the battle I am having in my mind. Any thoughts would be appreciated. And what about sharing monthly pictures? Would that be helpful, beneficial, fun?? Let me know...thanks!