Wifezilla's Way

Marinara Melt

2012-01-30T15:27:00.000-08:00

While I advocate as much home cooking as possible, there are times when your schedule forces you to take short cuts. During those instances, the time it takes to cook your food takes priority over the ingredients. You can still stay on the low carb path, you just may have to make a few allowances for convenience items.

This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make and works great on days when a job, appointments and household chores leave you very little cooking time.

Marinara Melt

1 jar of Ragu No Sugar Added Tomato and Basil sauce
2 lbs ground beef
12 oz grated mozzarella cheese
2 tsp jarred minced garlic
1/4 cup dry parmesan cheese
Optional: Fresh basil & oregano
Optional: red pepper flakes

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. If you are adding fresh herbs, add it to the meat when it is just about finished. Fresh herbs turn bitter when over-cooked. Drain and return to medium heat. Add Ragu and parmesan cheese and stir until it starts to bubble. Top with shredded cheese and cook another minute or two until the cheese melts. Makes approximately 4 servings.

Quick and filling, this recipe goes down great on a cold, rainy day. Serve with butter fried Italian summer squash and sliced onions. If you can manage to slice and cook your side dish while the meat is browning, you can still finish the whole meal in 10 minutes or less.

Steak Wraps

2012-01-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

I am fortunate enough to have a Mexican grocery store with in easy driving distance of my house. Along with great deals on fresh produce, they also have good beef sales. I took advantage of a recent sale on sirloin tip steaks and used that to create this make in minutes meal.

Unlike big meat slabs of steak at your typical grocery store, steak cuts at the Mexican market are very thin. These thin cuts make quick cooking easy. If you don't have a Mexican market nearby, ask your local store's butcher if they can slice some steaks very thin for you. Another option is to use pre-packaged Steak Umm's, but these tend to be more expensive, and fresher is better in my opinion.

South of the Border Steak Wrap

South of the Border Steak Wrap
• Thin sliced steak
• Cream cheese
• Salsa
• Salt, pepper, and butter for frying steak
• Large Lettuce leaf (optional)

Fry thin steak pieces in butter or ghee in a larg

e pan or on a griddle. Season with salt and pepper. Be careful not to over cook. Place cooked steak on a plate lined with paper towels. Blot with additional paper towels. Spread cream cheese over steak slice. Add salsa and roll up steak. If this looks like it might be a bit messy to you, wrap the steak wrap with a piece of leaf lettuce to help keep the fingers clean.
Allow 2 -3 wraps per person depending on steak size.

Philly Steak Wrap

• Thin sliced steak
• Cream cheese
• Fried onions, mushrooms and peppers
• Swiss cheese
• Salt, pepper, and butter for frying steak
• Large Lettuce leaf (optional)
Same technique as above, you are just using a different filling. Caramelize the onions before adding the peppers and mushrooms. This one will be messier because of the filling. Just be prepared.

Thin sliced steaks fry up quickly. Be careful not to overcook or they get tough.

RECIPE: Spicy Butternut Soup

2012-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

Butternut squash are inexpensive and abundant fall through winter. Take advantage of this excellent grocery store and farmer's market bargain by making a hearty, healthy, butternut soup. While squash is a little bit on the carby side, it is a great food for those who have moved beyond a very low carb induction phase and are on a maintenance program.

Ingredients

2 small or 1 large butternut squash
1 lb of spicy pork sausage
6oz sliced portobello mushrooms
1 large red onion
2 packages cream cheese
butter for cooking onions and mushrooms
ground cayenne pepper to taste
Sea salt, pepper, fennel and ground sage to taste

Half and clean the butternut squash. Either roast in the oven (350º for 1-2 hour) or microwave in a covered dish with a little water (45-60 minutes). While the squash is cooking, brown the sausage and drain. Set aside. Dice the onions and cook in butter until caramelized. In a separate pan, cook the sliced mushrooms in butter until soft.

Once the squash is nice and soft, scoop it out of its shell and run through a food processor or blender with just enough hot water to get the blades to get the squash mixed well. (In my little food processor it took about 4 batches.)

Pour the squash puree in to a large stock pot. Add the sausage, onion and mushrooms. Add more water if needed to get the puree to a nice thick soup consistency. Add spices to taste. (I go heavy on the cayenne!). Once everything is hot and well blended, stir in the cream cheese. Keep stirring until it's melted.

Serve in a large bowl with a pat of real butter on top

Fantastic Shakes Without the Sugar

2012-01-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

When the weather gets warm, the thought of sipping a cold frosty shake comes to mind. It might take a little advanced planning, but you can still sip on a thick, cold shake even if you are avoiding excess carbohydrates. Instead of sugar-loaded ice cream as your base, you just freeze some Greek yogurt ahead of time and use that instead.

Take your favorite plain, full-fat Greek-style yogurt and freeze it in either muffin tins or ice cube trays. You want it to be frozen in a size that can easily be crushed in your blender.
Let the yogurt freeze for several hours or overnight.
When it's time to make your shake, take 6oz worth of frozen yogurt (3 "muffins" with my tin) and put it in a blender with 3/4 cups of coconut milk, almond milk, cream, whole milk or half and half.
Pulse to get the frozen yogurt pieces well broken up.
Add your sweetener of choice such as erythritol, Splenda or raw local honey.
Flavor your shake with either vanilla extract, natural peanut butter, some unsweetened cocoa powder, or add some fresh berries.
Blend on high until smooth.
Serve in a frosty mug with a bendy straw.

This recipe is extremely flexible and the shake can be made as thick or as creamy as you like by adjusting the liquid amount. If you use cream as your liquid to reduce the carb count, be careful you do not blend too long or you will turn the cream to butter. Make extra yogurt cubes ahead of time and store them in the freezer in a freezer-safe container so you can make a shake whenever a craving hits.

Note: I have also tried this technique using frozen heavy cream and frozen milk. The best texture and flavor came from the shakes made with yogurt, but the cream will work in a pinch.

Recipe: Abi Fae's Fat Bombs

2012-01-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

If you are eating a low carb diet, your primary source of calories should be from fat. That's is the low carb diet's "dirty little secret". You aren't eating a high protein diet. You are eating a HIGH FAT diet.

Some people need more fat than others. If your body easily converts protein to glucose, you need more fat. Prone to seizures or other brain disorders? More fat. My "bestie" Abi Fae falls in to the seizure-prone category and has devised a very quick, tasty way to get plenty of healthy fats in to her daily eating plan. I present... the FAT BOMB! If you are looking to up the level of healthy fats in your diet, this is a great thing to try.

Shown: Fat bombs with high cocoa chocolate chips.

Abi Fae's Fat Bombs

• 8 oz unsweetened almond butter
• 8 oz raw coconut butter (Artisana brand is excellent) OR virgin coconut oil
• 1 stick butter

• 2 Tbsp butter

• 1 bar of 85% cocoa chocolate (Black and Greens, Dagoba, Lindt, etc...) or high cocoa chocolate chips

• Sweetener of choice to taste (I use a small amount of eryritol, but you can also use Splenda or raw, local honey if you are not super carb sensitive. Abi does not use any sweetener in hers.)

Optional add-ins

Roasted nuts

Dried sugar-free fruit like cherries or cranberries

Cocoa nibs

Unsweetened coconut flakes

In a microwave-safe bowl, soften butters for 1-3 minutes until the are easy to stir together. One the butters are blended, add in any extras making sure there is still enough butter blend to coat all the goodies. Taste and add sweetener if desired make sure to stir well.

The butter mix then needs to be put in some kind of form to cool. Silicone muffin cups, baking pan, chocolate molds, etc... just make sure it is flexible so you can get the fat bombs OUT of the molds. Melt the chocolate bar in the microwave in a glass dish and add a little butter to make it smooth and creamy. Dip your chilled fat bombs in to the chocolate and allow to cool on a piece of wax paper or a silicone sheet. You can also drizzle the melted chocolate over each fat bomb. Store in the refrigerator.

Because of the low melt point of the butter and coconut butter, these need to be kept cold. If you plan on sticking these in a lunch box to eat later, simply put your fat bombs in small jelly canning jars and add a few low-sugar, high-cocoa chocolate chips instead of using chocolate molds and coating with melted chocolate. The thing I like about using the chocolate chips is the label shows how many carbs per chip so you can easily decide how carby or carb-free you want to make each jar full.

Low carbing on vacation

2012-01-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like spending a long weekend with 4 sugar-junkies to test a person's low carb resolve. On a recent trip to Dillon, CO with members of my book club, carbs where everywhere. Fortunately I had packed a small cooler with low carb foods and was

able to avoid temptation. Instead of Skier's French Toast, I had turkey slices with cheddar, boiled quail eggs and some fresh veggies. Instead of bagels, I had a steak, turkey and pepper stir fry.

Of course, these were meals we cooked at the condo we rented. Eating out was a little more challenging. I was able to find a few goodies without going carb crazy or being too much of a pain to the restaurant staff.

Instead of a plate of giant blue berry pancakes or waffles topped with sugary syrup and whipped cream, I had a very delicious homemade green chili with pork. At one of our lunches, hot wings with veggies sticks was the perfect alternative to pasta dishes.

Now you may be getting the impression that I was some kind of low carb saint on this trip. I wasn't. I had wine, a delicious wheat beer at the Dam Brewery and even had an ice cream cone while walking through Frisco. But since I was able to make overall good meal choices, these vacation treats didn't lead to binging, massive weight gain or loads of guilt.

Low carbing in a carby world is difficult, but it isn't impossible. With a little planning, your vacations don't have to be a dietary nightmare.

Toast? Who Needs Toast?!

2012-01-25T18:30:00.001-08:00

Thin cut eye of round makes a much better yolk-dunker than toast. The eggs are fresh duck eggs friend in coconut oil. A delicious, nutritious breakfast!

Trying to kick the soda habit?

2012-01-25T16:03:00.000-08:00

Even if you managed to kick the regular soda habit and are no longer destroying your health with high fructose corn syrup, is it really wise to drink diet sodas? There is controversy about that topic with some saying both Aspartame and Splenda have potential hidden dangers. Until the science shakes itself out, it might be a great idea to drop soda all together.

As a long time soda junkie, I know that isn't easy. One thing that can work well if plain water bores you to tears is herbal tea. A flavor I highly recommend Market Spice Cinnamon Orange Tea. It is naturally sweet and requires no additional sweeteners, natural or otherwise, at all! How do they do it? Apparently it is the orange and cinnamon oils they add to the tea mix.

I brew up a big batch and put it in large swing top bottles, grab one when heading out to work and sip it throughout the day. This tea is so strong you can usually get three batches out of the same tea leaves. Using a French Press, I add 1/4 cup of loose tea and add hot water. Steep about 10 minutes then add more water. Each "pressing" will be a little weaker, but keep adding to a large pitcher. After you have exhausted the tea mix, add cold water to taste. That's it!

Keep in mind not all cinnamon orange teas will be naturally sweet like Market Spice, but I have found some at small tea shops that have a similar flavor and sweetness level. In Colorado Springs, Laura Lee's Teas carries it in regular and decaf. (I use decaf.) Ask the proprietor of your local tea shop if they have a tea that is a naturally sweet cinnamon orange tea and give it a try. If you find yourself reaching for sweetener, hop online and order yourself some of the Market Spice blend.

Neglect

2009-07-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I have SO neglected my blog. Writing is something that is never easy for me, and time is short. You can find a lot of my new articles on my Examiner page here...

Denver Low Carb Examiner

My little ducks have been keeping me quite busy. I raised 3 Welsh Harlequins to go along with my runner, rouen drake, and the buff/kahki mix I hatched out myself. We should have full egg production by fall.

They are so cute when they are little, but they grow up so fast. Here they are now...

Shelley

Wendy

Bebe

I have also been working on their pond. I am using natural filtration and trying to get more plants in the system. When I am done tinkering, I will post photos of that too.

I am still low carbing with my occasion book-club related transgressions. My weight actually went up a few pounds over the holiday, but my measurements stayed the same. Weird! My blood pressure is still fantastic and a constant reminder that low carb is the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it :D

Chicken and Egg Drop Soup

2009-01-08T12:04:00.000-08:00

I went out to eat with a girlfriend of mine the other day. She had moved out of state but was in the area and wanted to eat at her favorite Chinese restaurant. We used to eat there on a regular basis years ago, and I thought I if I left out the rice and skipped the egg roll, I should be able to find something tasty to eat. Instead I ended up with a serious stomach ache. Everything was so loaded with corn starch and tasted so sweet there was no way I could enjoy the food. My old favorite, egg drop soup, was particularly vile, consisting of copious amounts of salt and thickener with very little chicken or egg flavor. It inspired me to make my own heartier version that included actual chicken meat and plenty of eggs. I hope you like it as much as I do.

This recipe reheats well for a quick lunch at work.

Wifezilla's Low Carb Chicken & Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
3.5 oz package of Shitake mushrooms, chopped
5 jumbo eggs
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 package of fresh sugar snap peas, cut in 3rds (about 1 cup)
2 16oz boxes of Chicken Broth
Chicken bullion, pepper and garlic powder to taste
Butter (for cooking the mushrooms. About 1 Tbsp) and some oil for frying up the chicken

Directions: Fry up the chicken in large soup pot over medium heat in enough oil to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When it is done, cover with chicken broth and let it simmer until the meat easily comes off the bone. Debone chicken and add meat back in to the stock. Add water until you get just under 2 quarts of liquid. While chicken is cooking, cook chopped mushrooms in butter in a separate pan. Add mushroom, green onions, and sliced peas to the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Add pepper, garlic and bullion to taste and turn off the heat just before you add in the eggs. Whip eggs together in a bowl. Drizzle VERY slowly while stirring in one direction for silken egg threads.

The carb count question...

People often ask for carb counts on my recipes. The problem with the carb counts is that people often use different ingredients and freely make substitutions. Another issue is serving size. What I would consider a serving might be 1/2 serving to one person and 2 servings to another. To get the best, most accurate carb count, enter the items used to create your version of a recipe in to www.fitday.com or www.thedailyplate.com. These free services allow you to properly calculate calories, protein and fat content in your foods and account for any alterations or substitutions.

How fresh is your food?

2009-01-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

Since going low carb, a lot of the food I eat is fresh, local and requires little (if any) processing. As part of my movement to fresh foods, over the years my visits to farmer's markets has increased, I have planted my own herbs, I have some fruit trees and even my own grape vines. Last year I got together with some friends and we started our own community garden. It is only natural that I have taken the next step.

What is the next step? I purchased ducks so I can start getting my own fresh eggs. Sure, I could have gone with chickens, but my uncle raised ducks and geese, and I was just more familiar with them. The back yard poultry movement isn't something I expected to be a part of, yet here I am. I even found a great forum with very knowledgeable people to pester with lots of questions. www.backyardchickens.com

I have taken the plunge and adopted some adult birds. Once the days get longer the females should start laying and I will have my own fresh, delicious eggs from my new family members. Here is the flock...

The drake (Khaki Campbell light brown duck with dark green head) is named Jack. The Dark Khaki Campbell female is Janet. The Fawn Indian Runner is Chrissy, and the Buff duck is Lana. Chrissy and Janet should lay about an egg a day once they get started. Lana is a seasonal layer and will only lay Spring through Fall. She can still produce over 200 eggs a year. Three egg producing ducks might just be enough to keep up with my families consumption.

My latest Examiner post tells the story of another low carber that has taken the plunge in to poultry ownership. Stop by and check it out....
Fresh Food Takes a New Turn

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Hopefully you are all having a good start to the new year. I just wrote an Examiner article listing some predictions I have for 2009. If you get a chance, stop by and check it out. Be sure to let me know if you think I am on to something :D

Predictions for 2009

Low Carb Gingerbread House

2008-12-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

Photos of my gingerbread house made of slim jims, jack links, and beef jerky are up on my Examiner site here.

Making your own "meat masterpiece"? Send me a photo and I will be happy to post it.

Merry Christmas :D

Gingerbread houses are for wussies!

2008-12-04T20:24:00.000-08:00

As part of a Christmas party I am attending on Saturday, there is going to be a gingerbread house contest. Not touching sugar and flour for over 18 months has been very good to me, so I really see no need to start now. While I do admit that sugar and flour are better used as a building material than a food source, there just has to be a better way.

Instead of walls made out of gingerbread, candy trim and peppermint wheel windows, I did think about baking sheets of low carb almond cookies and using sugar-free candies. It would have the appearance of a traditional gingerbread house, but lack the traditional toxic ingredients. The more I thought about it, the more lame it seemed. Why pay tribute to sugar and wheat addiction by making a pathetic imitation? Instead, I decided to pay the ultimate tribute to my low carb lifestyle and make my gingerbread house out of MEAT!

You got it! Sausage logs walls, beef jerky "shingles", circles of summer sausage and any other dried meat that will hold its form. For mortar, instead of frosting I will use cream cheese onion dip fortified with a little palm oil. Decorations and trim will be almond slivers, pecan, macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds. There wont be a single gumdrop, licorice whip, or peppermint anywhere near my masterpiece. I think this will be a fitting tribute to low carb living.

So far all I have is $30 worth of dried meat and several packs of cream cheese and a head full of ideas. Stay tuned to see if I can actually pull this off.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T17:39:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone is having a tasty and fun Thanksgiving. Here is my dinner before it mysteriously disappeared. There is cooked-ahead turkey in Cream of Chicken Mushroom gravy, sausage and squash stuffing, "Jacked-up" cauliflower, a spinach salad and some sharp cheddar cheese. Who needs rolls!?!

I have recipes for most of these over on my Examiner site as well as instructions on what to do with that turkey carcass (you didn't throw it away, did you???). Stop by and check it out as soon as you recover from your food coma :D

Denver's Low Carb Examiner

Sugar-free Halloween

2008-10-28T07:53:00.001-07:00

I was able to find packages of Sugar-Free Double Bubble at my local Walmart, so it looks like I am set for my non-poisonous trick-or-treat offering. Not sure how the kids will take it. I guess I will find out at the end of the night. Either my pumpkins will be fine, which means they didn't notice I slipped sugar-free gum in their bags. Or, I will find smashed pumpkins, a burning pile of copies of "Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution", and "Death to Low-Carb!" spray painted on my VW Golf. Well, it could also be angry militant vegetarians who caught wind of my propensity to eat meat, but I guess in that case, the pumpkins would have been chewed on instead of smashed. I guess I will have play "Pumpkin CSI" to know for sure.

Along with purchasing non-toxic treats, I have also been going through my music collection trying to find a good mix of music to play Halloween night. I usually hook up some outside speakers and play some of the kid-friendly selections for the munchkins that come to my door. I have been working on building this collection for quite a few years, so it is pretty extensive. I was Facebooking with a friend of my hubby's the other night and mentioned I was jamming to some Halloween tunes. He asked what songs I was playing and I ended up typing up the entire list. Through the magic of cut and paste, I am posting it here in case anyone else is looking for some good music to play for treat-or-treaters or at their Halloween bash. Most music genres are represented, and some are a tad corny, but they sure are fun. Just be sure let me know if I left any good ones out.

Wifezilla's Ultimate Halloween Party Music List

"This is Halloween" by Marilyn Manson (as well as the original from the movie soundtrack)

"Black Magic Woman" by Carlos Santana

"I put a spell on you" by Natacha Atlas (as well as the CCR and Bett Midler versions)

"Every Day is Halloween" by Ministry

"Voo Doo" by Godsmack

"When You're Evil" by Voltaire (comedy song)

"Oogie Boogie Man" from Nightmare Before Christmas

"Psycho theme song"

"De Ja Voo Doo" by Kenny Wayne Sheperd

"Devil with a blue dress" by Mitch Ryder

Theme from Beetlejuice

Theme from Halloween ala Mike Myers

"Monster Mash"

Theme from the Addams Family

"Magic Man" by Heart

"Runnin' with the Devil" by Van Halen

"Blue Moon" the Platters

"Once bitten twice shy" White Snake

"Nemesis" by Shriekback

"Halloween" by Steven Lynch (comedy song)

"Thriller" Michael Jackson

Amityville Horror Theme

Ghostbusters Theme

Exorcist Theme

Tales From the Crypt Theme

Friday the 13th - Jason's Theme

"Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley

"Highway to Hell" by AC/DC

"Psycho Killer" Talking Heads

"Voodoo Lady" Ween

"Weird Science" Oingo Boingo

"Devil Inside" INXS

"Werewolves of London" Warren Zevon

"Blinded me with science" Thomas Dolby

"Zombie" Cranberries

"I'm Your Boogie Man" KC & the Sunshine Band

"Don't Fear the Reaper" Blue Oyster Cult

"Time Warp" Rocky Horror Picture Show

"Dead Man's Party" Oingo Boingo

"Hell's Bells" AC/DC

"Love Song For A Vampire" Annie Lennox

"The Beast" Concrete Blonde

"Deliver us from Evil" by Bullet for my Valentine "Evil Ways" by Carlos Santana "Dirty Deeds" AC/DC "Abracadabra" Steve Miller Band and "Evil Woman" by ELO

"Witchy Woman"--Eagles!

"Somebody's Watching Me" Rockwell

"Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult

"Clap for the Wolfman" The Guess Who

"Feed my Frankenstein" Alice Cooper

"Invisible Man" by Theory of a Dead Man

"Blasphemous Rumors" Depeche Mode

"Creatures" 311

"Live & Let Die" Guns & Roses

"Possum Kingdom" the Toadies

"Bad Moon Rising" CCR

"King of Pain" the Police

"Girls are F*cking Evil" by the Ataris

"They're coming to take me away" Napoleon

"If you want blood" AC/DC

"Dragula" Rob Zombie

"Little Devil" Neil Sedaka

"The Killing Moon" Echo and the Bunnymen

"Race with the Devil" by the Stray Cats

"Counting Bodies Like Sheep" Perfect Circle

"Sell your soul" Hollywood Undead

"Bark at the moon" Ozzy Osbourne

"World is a Vampire" Smashing Pumpkins

"Prince of Darkness" Megadeath

"Bloodletting" Concrete Blonde

"Can't fight the Moonlight" by Leann Rimes

"Vampires in Love" Deadlines

"Neon Moon" Brooks and Dunn

"If I was your Vampire" Marilyn Manson

"Poison" Alice Cooper

"My Boo" by Girlicious

"Hungry like the wolf" Duran Duran

"Animal I have Become" 3 Days Grace

"Cold Hearted Snake" Paula Abdul

"Living Dead Girl" Rob Zombie

"Move your body like a snake" R. Kelly

"I can sleep when I'm dead" Jason Michael Carroll

"Devil went down to Georgia" Charlie Daniels

More Halloween Issues

2008-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am not the only one who has been agonizing about whether or not to poison the neighborhood children with sugar this Halloween. Columnist Brian Cormier also has it on his mind...

"It's a little-known fact that this is also National Dentists Buy Expensive Cars Week across North America. Wherever children go door to door, dentists will be cackling with glee and their receptionists getting to work extra early tomorrow in order to deal with all those calls from moms and dads (probably mostly dads)."

Please stop by and check out the rest of his blog post. It's a great laugh :D

Why I never have any food in the house....

2008-10-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

My 18 year-old settling in for a good old fashioned refrigerator raid.

TB: Yet another reason to ditch carbs

2008-10-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

Not only is there a tie between type 2 diabetes and heart disease, there is also a link between diabetes and tuberculosis. The University of Texas Public Health team reports;

"-- Type 2 diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes involving chronic high blood sugar, is associated with altered immune response to TB, and this was particularly marked in patients with chronically high blood sugar.
-- Patients with diabetes and TB take longer to respond to anti-TB treatment.
-- Patients with active tuberculosis and Type 2 diabetes are more likely to have multi-drug resistant TB.

The World Health Organization estimates that 180 million people in the world have diabetes, and that number is expected to double by 2030. Also, according to the WHO, each person with active, untreated TB infects on average 10 to 15 people per year. "You do the math and it adds up to a major public health threat," McCormick said. "If you have Type 2 diabetes in an area with high rates of TB, your chances of getting TB goes up. In countries where a third of the population is infected with TB, this becomes a real issue."

In a recently published study in linical Infectious Diseases, researchers reported that the immune systems of patients with Type 2 diabetes and tuberculosis respond differently compared with patients with TB alone. "This immune impairment may be what makes patients with diabetes so susceptible to TB," said Fisher-Hoch, whose career as a scientist was recently honored with a Hall of Fame Award from Women In Technology International. " (full article)

Controlling blood sugar is about more than just treating diabetes. Unstable blood sugar seriously effects the immune system and can set you up for many different chronic disease (check my Examiner post on Diabetes and Heart disease for one example). One of the best ways to get your blood sugar under control is to follow a low carbohydrate diet. Check out the websites for Dr. Bernstein, Dr. Briffa and Dr. Mary Vernon to learn how you can avoid additional illness risk if you are already diabetic....or even if you aren't!

Sugar High Brings Heart to New Low

2008-10-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

From my latest Examiner post...

"Diabetics have always been at a much greater risk of heart disease than non-diabetics. According to the American Heart Association, approximately three-quarters of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. The exact mechanism by which diabetics succumb to heart disease was not totally understood. A new study by US and Australian researchers sheds light on the process that can lead a diabetic to a coronary incident.

"...short-lived sugar highs can trigger changes in gene expression that lead to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques - the build-up of white blood cells on artery walls that causes the narrowing or 'furring' of arteries and reduces blood flow to the heart."

Full Story

I also posted my Mozzarella Salad recipe, so if you missed it the first time, be sure to check it out...

Recipe

Another post from last week is a quick story about a research student who figured out that high carb + disease makes you even sicker...

Full Story

On a personal note, I got hit on last weekend. I don't get hit on often so it kind of took me by surprise since I am:

1) way taller than most people

2) have been overweight since my early 20's

3) I'm 45 and have been married forever

4) Still need to lose 18 pounds

It was kind of a good news/bad news thing. It is nice to know that someone finds you attractive...but the person hitting on me was a lesbian. Now, this isn't the first time I have gotten hit on by lesbians. It happened quite a few times in college. I must say though, I seem to be attracting an entirely different type than I did in the past. In my younger, fatter days, it was the mullet-wearing, flannel-sporting, Wrangler-wearers with huge belt buckles that thought I was interesting. Last week, it was a tall, cute blonde. I am moving up in the world apparently. Low carb seems to have helped me in a very unexpected way. Even though I am quite happy with my husband and will always have a preference for boys, it's nice to know I have options.

The Halloween Dilemma

2008-10-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Halloween is coming up and I have been off sugar and refined carbs for almost a year and a half now. The candy displays at the grocery store are almost impossible to avoid and I am so torn about what to do when the neighborhood kids come to my door Halloween night. Do I stick to my low carb convictions and give the kids Slim Jims instead of candy? Do I give them dark chocolate, reducing the amount of sugar I am giving them yet still give them candy? Do I give them little toys or coupons? I could get all evangelical and stand on the porch with my copy of "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and read passages from the chapter on sugar, but I don't want my pumpkins smashed or a quick trip to the local mental health care facility courtesy of their parents.

I firmly believe that sugar is destroying the health of adults and children around the world, but I also believe that kids should be kids and Halloween comes but once a year. Too bad I just know these little rug rats are going to be eating sugar in the form of cereal, sugar in the form of pasta, sugar in the form of rice, and sugar in the form of drinks loaded with high fructose corn syrup for the rest of their lives. Then their parents and school officials will try to make these poor kids lose weight by making them run, take exercise classes and give them low fat foods. More than the thought of ghost, vampires, zombies and politicians bent on "helping" me, this is my biggest nightmare.

Oh well. I can only do so much, and I am having enough trouble with my oldest son. I've been trying to convince my slightly chubby 20 year old that low carb is what he needs to drop the 5 lbs the Army wants him to lose before he enlists. If I can't convince my own stupid kid to drop the sugars, how can I expect to save the entire neighborhood?

I guess I will go with the dark chocolate option. At least if nobody shows up, it is something I can eat myself.

Sugar isn't the only problem with breakfast cereals

2008-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a new article I wrote for the Examiner about breakfast cereals...

"Consumer Reports released an article today stating that many breakfast cereals are more than 50% sugar.

"The bad news is that 23 of the top 27 cereals marketed to children rated only Good or Fair for nutrition. There is at least as much sugar in a serving of Kellogg's Honey Smacks and 10 other rated cereals as there is in a glazed doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts. "
Examiner Article: Sugar isn't the only problem with breakfast cereal

While it's very easy to get upset about added sugar in cereal, nobody seems to notice all the damn CARBS in that crap!!!

Who needs noodles when you have low carb 'cabboodles'?

2008-10-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest examiner post with a handy noodle replacement... shredded cabbage noodles, or, as I like to call them, "CABBOODLES"!

Low Carb Noodles

I also reposted an old recipe of mine for Almond Ricotta Pancakes. Check it out if you missed it the first time...
Low Carb Pancake Recipe

Dr. Sears' New Theory

2008-10-01T08:16:00.001-07:00

Dr. Barry Sears, author of The Zone Diet has a book coming out in which he proposes a new theory on obesity.

"Rather than looking at obesity as a condition of sloth and gluttony, Dr. Sears shows it is much more productive to think of obesity as a form of cancer that is driven by silent inflammation. Furthermore, the epidemics of weight gain and diabetes in America are primarily caused because the genes in susceptible individuals are being activated by recent changes in the American diet. Once those genes are turned on, obesity and diabetes are the inevitable outcome. The cause of those genes being turned on is the rapid increase of arachidonic acid (i.e., toxic fat) in our bodies." (Full Story)

The theory may sound a bit far-fetched, but after recently learning that Alzheimer's Disease may actually be a form of diabetes of the brain, it doesn't seem so wacky after all. With many random diseases (heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer) turning out to be generating from the same cause (excess carbohydrate consumption), Dr. Sears may actually be on to something.

Once I get a copy of his book, I'll read in to it further and let you know what I think.

Best Reasons to Start a Low Carb Diet

2008-09-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

I have a few new Examiner posts you might find interesting. One that I think came out rather well was "Best Reasons to Start a Low Carb Diet". I wrote that as part of the Examiner's BEST OF project and it was published yesterday. Links are below. I've marked the articles I published earlier on this blog as RERUNS so you can skip over those if you caught them the first time. All other posts are new.

Best Reasons to Start a Low Carb Diet
Are Diabetics Suffering for No Reason? (rerun)
Don't Have a Heart Attack. Dark Chocolate is Good For You!
Carbohydrates Clog Your Brain (rerun)
A Day At The Farmer's Market
Vitamin K(ale)

Fellow low carber and columnists Jamie Van Eaton has a new "best of" post too...
Five Best Low Carb Breakfast Ideas
Happy Reading :D