oh my delicious heart...

of palm and flank steak.

i haven't posted in a couple days and thought i would catch up this weekend with a few recipe posts of what i've been eating. and since today is my one day off i'll be taking off to a few stores and picking up some new food for the coming week and also hoping to test out some new recipes today and i'll be sure to share some of my favorite finds.

oh, and on a good note i have lost a few pounds over the past couple days. i'm finding it a bit easier to not go over my S/C value per day. i still did a little yesterday because i ate some fruit, but i'm starting to get a feel for this program a little better which keeps me within my daily limit most of the time. also, my aunt was interested and picked up a copy of jorge's book at costco and has been starting to follow the program. she has been low carb from the south beach diet for about a year and so this is a nice complement to her previous program. now i think she's paying a little more attention to her daily sugars since jorge talks so much about the 15 grams of sugars per day. and since she likes to cook as well it will definitely make our weekend meals a little easier and we'll have more S/C friendly foods around the house.

okay enough of that.. now to the FOOD!! friday night my aunt cooked some fish tacos from the recipe it jorge's book. it was altered slightly because we didn't have the same cheese and she also used a magic seasoning salt-free blend my mother sent us from new orleans to cook the fish. it was delicious!! i'm not a huge fan of fish tacos, but these were really good. i must apologize i was too hungry and ate the food before taking pictures. next time ;)

last night's dinner i did take photographs and will be happy to provide recipes :D


the menu: marinated flank steak, hearts of palm salad, acorn squash, asparagus 

my aunt found this recipe for marinated flank steak. it was de-lish!! lots of flavor and well, i love my meat still bleeding. i think i ate a little too much of this, but really did enjoy it.

with a happy little S/C value of 0/0

 next up.. hearts of palm salad and acorn squash. 

the salad was another recipe my aunt found on her south beach diet website. i enjoyed it, but it is an aquired taste. hearts of palm i find to have a slight artichoke flavor, but with a crunch. the dressing tossed with the palms gave it a strong citrusy punch due to the lemon juice and the bit of dijon mustard. i really liked it and thought it was a beautiful dish to serve. very light and perfect for spring/summer, but i still think it could use a little something extra special, but i'm not quite sure what. if you try this recipe and experiment let me know what you put in it? i'd like to try it again with a different type of dressing to toss it in. the S/C value = 0/1

the acorn squash was the first time i had ever cooked it. i had it at my best friend's house during the christmas holidays. her dad threw it in a roasting pan with lots of other things and it was so delicious i've been anxious to try it. i think i'm out of season, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. i was thinking to roast it in the oven along with the asparagus and realized how long it took so.. my way... SUPER fast and easy. i cut it in half and put it cut side down in a microwavable dish filled with some water and zapped it for about 8 minutes. it was perfect. i then cut it up in smaller pieces and dumped it in the bowl. drizzled some olive oil and gave it a little bit of salt. i tasted and it was good, but realized what would make it amazing would be a little bit of brown sugar. so, i did a bad thing on the bfc diet, but it's not something i'll do always. so i took a little bit of a splenda brown sugar blend and sprinkled some on top and put it in the microwave for another 30 seconds or so. it was really really warm, sweet, tasty side dish, but i won't be making it a regular vegetable. for 2/3 of a cup of cubed acorn squash it has an S/C value of 2/1. then there was the sprinkle of brown sugar. not bad, but lets not talk about this. if you'd like to forgo the brown sugar it was still good before i made it a "belly bad" food.

 

 final dinner had some roasted asparagas on the side. 4 has an S/C value of 1/0, but since these were so skinny to begin with i think more than four would count as that, but that's just my opinion. we typically drizzle them with a little olive oil and then salt and pepper and roast in the oven.

 

and then there was dessert... so yummy :) i'll save that one for a little later. i'm ready for my sunday breakfast and to get some grocery shopping done before the day passes me by!

only have a little bit of time...

but it's lunchtime!! and i am HUNGRY!

i ran home for lunch and was looking forward to my tuna sandwich. i had already prepared some tuna yesterday (sunday) so that i would have enough to make a few sandwiches during the week when i need to fix lunch quickly.

and it was delicious.. so yummy... (p.s. - those are my aunt's new flowers on the table. lots more in the backyard i'll have to showcase later)

i use the sara lee 45 calorie whole wheat bread which is an S/C value of 2/1. and of course there's the glass of refreshing sportea i love. we haven't gotten the shipment of more tea yet. this was the last pitcher i brewed yesterday. :( sure hoping it comes quickly.

how i made the tuna:

i drained two cans of tuna and dumped it in a bowl with two or three spoons of the olive oil mayo (figure if i'm gonna have fats i should have the good ones, right?) chopped up one celery stalk finely, some chopped fresh green onion just green parts (the bottoms have added sugar) couple squirts of dijon mustard, a spoonful or so of relish, one packet of truvia, little grind of pepper and pink himalayan salt and i think that may be about it.

next time i won't use the relish, it adds a tiny bit of sugar and i didn't like the relish in it so much. i don't think i'll add the dijon mustard next time either, if so just a tiny squirt not as much. however, i will be sure to slice up a boiled egg. i do like that in my tuna.

but i came home and toasted the bread put a little mayo on and then the tunafish and sliced up a fresh tomato and used some shredded lettuce we had in the fridge. it was so good i'm wishin i had another right now.

now, in jorge's book his tuna sandwich do-over has egg slices rather than the tomato. i believe this is because it saves you on the sugar count. however, i believe i needed a little boost of sugar 'cause yesterday i was feelin a little hypoglycemic. besides, i'm hoping to get as much of my sugars from natural fruits and veggies rather than junk foods and chocolate. tomatoes are so good for you and it was so fresh and delicious. i can't wait for my tomatoes to grow so i can pick my own.

then, another favorite find i have from trader joe's are these little crispy rounds of yummy

these little pita crackers are 0 grams of sugar and it is 1 serving of carb for 9 crackers which is plenty enough actually. so i had these crackers with some leftover spinach and artichoke dip my aunt made for her dinner party on friday evening. i counted the dip as a 1/0 S/C value. i'll post the recipe when i have time later because it has been a favorite at all our dinner parties and with this low of a count it'll be a great treat to whip up a bowl and keep in the fridge for the week.

the spinach artichoke dip with pita crackers is a quick, easy and delicious S/C value of 1/1

what to eat?

i was at albertson's yesterday and picking up some things and stopped at the frozen meal section. usually i get the pricier smart one's or lean cuisine's and starting looking at the different options.

first of all, one of my main priorities is i need to have foods ready that are going to be quick and easy and readily available and that will fill me up. come monday morning my schedule gets crazy again and if i have to think too hard about food i'm likely to get frustrated and just swing by a mcdonald's on the way home.

however, i discovered these little gems:

now, i'm definitely not advocating this as "healthy" food. however, considering the alternatives which for me would be my mcdonald's addiction i'd say this is a really great option for several reasons.

1. they were on sale for 79 cents a piece. can you argue with that?

2. they are quick, easy and convenient when i'm running home and need a quick lunch

or need to grab something quickly to bring with me for dinner while i'm at school

3. most of the S/C values of these are 2/2 or 3/2 a couple maybe 4/2. 

i can't remember specifics for each one. however, all the ones i purchased

were well within a really good S/C range.