Thank goddess for Lily’s and Choc Zero for now I can have my own chocolate-covered strawberries! Made them to treat myself, and for a good reason. This time of the year, as well as Father’s Day, is usually a tough time for me. It’s another long story for another day, but the TL:DR version of it is that it’s fine to not celebrate those days, and that I’m glad to be in a better place now. 💜
Well, it was rainy earlier. Now it’s just so cold for a middle-of-spring day.
My home internet has been down for over a day and it won’t be fixed till Monday. (Yes, I paid my internet bill, so it’s a tech issue.) I’ve been getting by with my phone and 5G this whole time. But I’m a creature of habit (and a total old) who prefers to write my long-form content on the laptop instead of on my phone, and watch NBA & NHL Playoff games on my TV instead of on my phone. I’m making like a cell phone addict at the moment 😆
I’m very close to finishing up Part Two of my work-in-progress. Part Three is where the bulk of the drama and romance will take place, and I’m looking forward to writing it all!
Less than six months from now I leave my 30s for good. 😱 I’m closer to menopause than I am to 21. I…I…I’m not gonna let that sink in for now and just be glad that I wasn’t using retinol at 21.
I’m still wondering where to go for the milestone birthday…
This is supposed to be low-carb Mexican lasagna, which I got from here. I just read that it was originally made in a 6 x 9 dish (which was never mentioned in the recipe notes), so now I know why my, uh, lasagna look more like a Mexican pizza since I made mines in a 9 x 9 dish 😅.
At least my stomach is ready for Cinco De Mayo!
I gotta say it…
Foolish is protest-voting driven out of current emotion for one, single, decades-long issue, without considering the consequences of your no-vote that affects many other issues in this country. Especially this year! (I may rant on this in another entry, if I get time. Long story short: my views on *that* issue is very this.)
Thank goddess I’m not a Maple Leafs fan.
Finally, a new definition of cold-blodded from Kendrick:
It’s another blah rainy day in the Bay yet again, so I shall turn to some deep fried comfort food! Keto Fried Chicken is back on the menu again, and for the side dish is Keto French Fries. The latter is super simple to make. No exotic veggies necessary–just flour, water, and xantham gum. I like making the coconut flour version since I don’t have to use as much product (unlike the almond flour version, and almond flour can be costly). And what I like doing with the fries is toasting it for no more than 10 minutes first, then deep frying it after for extra crispy goodness. I got me fast food at home and didn’t need Doordash for it all. 😊
I took the day off from work today and, besides getting to sleep in (take that, spring forward Daylight Savings Time!), I just made these: Keto Turtle Brownies! Whenever I crave brownies, I prefer to have something else with them. I can eat them plain, but I like jazzing them up. No better add-ons to a brownie than caramel sauce, pecans, and melted chocolate drizzle! And it’s all sugar-free/low-carb so you don’t have to worry about the diabeetus.
Recipe: https://www.bonappeteach.com/easy-keto-turtle-brownies/
If you’ve been following me on my socials, you’ll notice the occasional post on what I’ve baked up lately. I’ve been making my own sweets for quite a while now, but since going low-carb a couple years ago, it was a bit tough trying to satisfy my sweet tooth. Sure, I could dunk bacon in almond butter, but it’s not the same as a cookie or pie. And my prepackaged options are not that vast. (Plus, the carb count on some of the so-called “low-carb” prepackaged stuff out there is deceitful!) Two years into living the low-carb lifestyle (which, by the way, I won’t be quitting anytime soon), and I’ve since mastered almost all sugar-free dessert recipes out there.
Some of my favorite homemade sweets:
*Sugar-free/Keto Pecan Turtles* – Out of all the turtle recipes I’ve seen, this one was the easiest to make, and the caramel recipe from this is divine! Gooey and chewy!
*Keto Oreos* – I’ve baked plenty of things from Sugar Free Londoner’s site, and her version of Oreos is my go-to. You’ll notice a couple of them covered in chocolate, which is not in the original recipe. To do that, all you do is melt one cup of sugar-free chocolate chips to a tablespoon of coconut oil. When it’s fully melted, take a regular Oreo (must be already baked and cooled down) and slather that baby in chocolate. Because it’s the holidays, I opted for a sugar-free peppermint candy garnish (you can get the candy at Dollar Tree).
*Keto Cinnamon Rolls* – Who needs Cinnabon? These are everything. If you’re wondering where to get Carbquik, it can be found at Walmart Neighborhood Market.
*Keto Fried Chicken* – I thought I couldn’t have fried savory foods until I saw a slew of low-carb alternatives. The recipe linked calls for chicken thighs, but it also works well for boneless and skinless chicken breasts (which I cooked up in the pic). Now I can make my own copycat Popeye’s chicken sandwich, with a lot less carbs!
While I’ve managed to make all my homemade goods taste good in the end, some don’t end up worthy of the IG Food Pageant. (In fairness, I don’t make food for show, but for my stomach.) Take all the times I used my Dash Mini Pie Maker…
Sad-looking but tasty pies.
I’ve made some apple and pecan pies from it so far, but taking them out of the maker is an effing CHORE. It’s already a chore to assemble the pie into the maker (bottom pie crust, filling, then top pie crust), but I’ve had to be careful when taking out the finished pie. For one, I’m dealing with a hot AF device, and I have to make sure the entire pie stays intact. It’s yet to happen. Despite my frustrations from taking out the pies, because I’m a sucker for making mini pies, I’ll keep on using the Dash for now (until I find some good mini pie pans).
Don’t be surprised that, as I write this, I got something baking right now. Creative writing requires good food for the brain, you know. What am I making right now? Hint: it doesn’t involve an oven, and it’s pretty minty.
And now for a happy story, as I feel like we need more of them after what’s happened this past week.
There’s a big story behind the two pairs of jeans in the header pic. Emphasis on “big.”
It was the day after Christmas, 2021. I looked at naked myself in the mirror right before my morning shower and made the same face whenever I get an unexpected bill. I had some nice Christmas presents that year, but an in-shape figure was not one of them. Simply put, my ass was out of shape. Before that realization, I grudgingly accepted my out-of-shape ass, and if I ever felt the least bit self-conscious over it, I’d eat a little less and exercise more. After all, those were the ways to weight loss, right? But despite cutting back on the bacon & chips and running a little more on my workout days and having my fruit and potatoes, I saw no damn results. I stayed around the same size and weight, and that day after Christmas, something in me actually wanted change. I didn’t seek out to make a heavily cliched New Year’s resolution that day, but it happened.
Then I wondered: how the hell am I gonna make that change?
Right after that wake-up call, I researched all sorts of diets that could help me out. The one that intrigued me the most was the Keto/Low-Carb lifestyle. Back in the 2000s when I first heard of a low-carb diet (then known as the Atkins diet), I balked at the idea of giving up my starches to shed the pounds. No way was I gonna let Dr. Atkins take away my potatoes and crackers. As I read more on the keto way of eating, I found out that it was those same potatoes and crackers that were fattening me up thanks to their high carb/sugar count, which I found unusual considering that I always thought I was eating healthy. Who knew so-called healthy foods were also doing damage? Or so I read.
I can’t say how and why I chose a lifestyle sans refined carbs and sugar, although maybe it had to do with two things. One: I tried almost every other diet/weight loss product out there and nothing worked. I lived through the days of “slimming tea” and Hydroxycut, so I should know. And two: having had weight struggles since childhood, at that point in my life, I’d try almost anything to shed the adipose. If giving up former faves like whole wheat bread, whole grain crackers, and bananas was the way to a new figure, then so be it.
Knowing that it was going to be a bumpy transition from high-carb to low-carb considering my eating habits, I chose to ease into it instead of quitting carbs cold turkey. I’ll admit, my heart ached when I had to say goodbye to my precious chips & crackers (one of my former addictions), apples & bananas (yep, I can’t have too much of them anymore), falafel patties, and croissants from Costco. But as the days went on, I started noticing some changes. Clothes started to feel a touch looser. My energy levels increased, as did my need to use the bathroom. I read that water weight was the first to go upon starting a low-carb/keto lifestyle, and while I also heard about that “keto flu”, I was lucky to not have experienced that (thank you, ketoade). By the end of the month, I had dropped a pant size. It was just one size but I was stoked.
As much as I adore friends and family gifting me during this time, even during the holidays, you just gotta spoil yourself. Judging by all the stuff I bought the past month, I can safely say I spoiled myself way too much this Christmas. In my defense, it’s hard to turn down a good sale, and almost all the things you see in that left pic were bought for its original retail price. The luxe makeup and Diptyque set included. Those Adrienne Vittadini heels, which originally go for $100, were bought for $7 at Macy’s Backstage. Not even Goodwill would sell those heels for that cheap. And since shopping–which includes lots of walking, some driving, and occasional stressing–burns calories, I made myself a low-carb pecan pie to refuel! (I’m also aware of this pie and the chocolate advent calendar I bought, which conflicts with my low-carb ways. Don’t worry–it’s only 5 grams of carbs per chocolate bitty, and I’m only having one piece a day.) The recipe for the pie and crust can be found here.
Hope you all are having a joyous Christmas/holidays/Sunday/Monday!
ETA: if you’re wondering what I gifted myself…(clockwise from top left) Tom Ford Lip Discovery Set (bought during Bloomingdale’s sale two weeks ago), Diptyque L’Art Du Parfum set (bought new & sealed at a bargain on eBay and it is legit), Aqua holographic puffer (also bought during Bloomie’s sale, and a true holographic jacket has long been a coveted item of mine), Charter Club CZ ring (bought during Macy’s Black Friday sale), cheap but sweet holiday bracelets I got from Savers, Compartes Chocolate Advent Calendar (originally retails for $110+ but got it for $32 (!!) at Nordstrom a week ago), the Adrienne Vittadini heels, Welcome To Dunder Mifflin book (bought during Target’s Buy 2 Get 1 Free books/DVDs/CDs sale), and *takes a breath* Pat McGrath’s Moonlit Seduction palette (bought during her Black Friday sale).
I haven’t been much of a writing fiend as of late (work and life got in the way), but if I’m unable to write my future New York Times bestseller (yeah, sure), one thing that stays constant in my life is enjoying a hot cuppa. If you saw my tea collection, you’d go guuuurrrl because yes I own that much tea. Not enough to open my own tea bar, but I’m pretty stocked, to say the least. (It’s also hard to turn down a BOGO Free sale on Yogi Tea at Sprouts.) What am I about to brew on this cold, rainy night is one of my all-time faves you see in the pic above, about to be paired with my Evil Queen mug. Trader Joe’s better not discontinue that tea!
Who isn’t craving pumpkin this time of year? It may sound easy to fulfill my pumpkin cravings by snatching up one of those large pumpkin pies Costco sells, devour them, and call it a day. But as a low-carb eater (have been for a while), I got a few extra hurdles to jump over. And I’m aware that pumpkin isn’t low-carb, but some of it for a day (OK, probably this whole holiday weekend) won’t totally wreck me. Plus, it’s the holidays and there’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence!
You can thank Bath & Body Works’ Pumpkin Pecan Waffles body spray (which is what I’m currently wearing, don’t judge) for influencing my breakfast: Pumpkin Pecan Chaffles. (For extra oomph, invest in some pumpkin spice extract and add a teaspoon of it to the recipe.) I also wanted to get a head start on my Thanksgiving cooking, so I whipped up some pumpkin pie sans sugar and excess carbs. The crust is also low-carb, and shoutout to Wholesome Yum for being a gold mine for my low-carb needs. I’m holding out till Thanksgiving morning to have some pie (I’m not making any promises, though, and I still got dinner to eat), but the chaffles–paired with some sugar-free maple syrup and whipped cream–were *chef’s kiss* delectable.
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