October Overachievers' Challenge

[metqa]

See that's what lurking is for. You join the group, you read only what you wanna read and nobody pins your for not responding cause they don't know y ou are there. You can skip the personal stuff that you don't know what they are talking about and read the juicy bits when you feel like it and finally De-lurk if they ever say anything that you can contribute about.
...

This is the Master Lurker Plan. It really works.

[JMCM1]

I see that now.
Books could be written!

[JessBunny]

It's a drive by hello for me today. So busy this week and I know the weekend will be busy too. Thanks to Judy (I think) for the pudding recipe suggestions! The cream cheese one that you and Buffy were talking about got my attention because it looked so quick and easy to make. And I love quick and easy stuff! I'll be back next week and hopefully able to get involved more, everyone have a lovely weekend!!

[Buffy45]

Ok, hope metga isn't lurking here right now b/c we must set out to develope a plan to trap her while she is with us,

Judy printed off the muffin recipe, like to make DD muffins as that is something she can grab and go with.

Jess, glad you made it by to say hello!

[JMCM1]

Jess, I second the hello!

*whisper* Buffy, I am not a great plan developer, but I am a great implementer of plans. I like the way you're thinking.....

[metqa]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Ok, hope metga isn't lurking here right now b/c we must set out to develope a plan to trap her while she is with us,

Whoops!

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by metqa

Whoops!

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

I see that now.
Books could be written!

Oh ya... but these are book-keeping... that's what I do.
I'm doing good! Got one month done before hubby came home & got me doing stuff for him... only 3 more months to their year-end (May).

Love the peek-a-boo!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by metqa

Whoops!

Ehhhh, she is a sneaky one, better have a very very good plan!

Very cute smilies Metqa!

[Buffy45]

Been gone all afternoon, running errands and a little shopping. Darn that TJ Maxx, I love, love that store but a purse on sale jumped into my cart, then a necklace and that was before I even made it over to the HomeGoods side. Over there though, I got some CO for $5.99, some avocado oil????, anxious to taste it and some SF cinnamon DaVinci's. SCORE!!!

At Belk's I got Olli 2 pair of swim trucks on clearance for $2.98 each and a little shirt that matched one of them, also $2.98. For our newer ones, Ollie is my youngest grandson. He's not quite 2 yet.

[metqa]

Oh I get all my Davinci's from TJ Maxx! I'm gonna look for some of those oils next time I go. I found Marshmallow, Chai Tea concetrate, and an awesome Caramel syrup that makes delicious clouds and sugar free glaze for "caramel" popcorn.

[JMCM1]

Whoa whoa whoa metqa..... I have DaVinci sugar-free caramel.
What is this POPCORN you speak of?? And how could it be low in carbs?

What are clouds? (don't worry - they sound familiar and I'm sure I can find them)

Signed,
Obviously not very Lurky in the cloud and popcorn department

- - -
Debby - if you can have thyroid and adrenal problems and STILL KEEP BOOKS, my imaginary hat is off to you!!

[DebbyL]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Debby - if you can have thyroid and adrenal problems and STILL KEEP BOOKS, my imaginary hat is off to you!!

LOL Judy! Some days I wonder... that's for sure! When I was going through the brain-fog I made lots of mistakes , which I found later... lots of times I could only work on them first thing in the morning (cause I'm a morning person)... then move onto something brainless... its how I've been surviving. But I am getting better! PTL!

[CarolynF]

Just got home.. Meeting all day and then tomorrow, too for Christian Women's Club,
We met at Voice of the Martyrs HQs in Bartlesville...What a beautiful place..and a wonderful ministry.

Giving everyone a cyberhug.

[JMCM1]

Welcome home - now go to bed!
What a nice evening it sounds like you had.

- - -
Found the clouds on Linda Sue's site and then some threads here.

CREAM CHEESE CLOUDS (from Linda Sue Genaw)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2-3/4 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring

Beat everything with an electric mixer until fluffy. Drop by bite-size spoonfuls onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour. Store in the freezer and eat frozen.

Makes 24 clouds

* I didn't think they were quite sweet enough with 1/2 cup so I used liquid Splenda to equal 3/4 cup granular. The counts are based on 3/4 cup Splenda.

NOTE: You can store these in the refrigerator and they will hold their shape quite well as long as they are good and cold.

With granular Splenda:
Per Cloud: 70 Calories; 7g Fat; 1g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb
Per 2 Clouds: 140 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per 2 Clouds: 134 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; .5g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; .5g Net Carbs
Per 4 Clouds: 268 Calories; 29g Fat; 3g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb

This is a recipe that's been going around the low carb community for years and I finally got around to trying it. They're very good but addictive. Something about eating them frozen is very nice. They basically taste like little bites of frozen cheesecake but you could make all kinds of variations by using different flavorings and adding chopped nuts, coconut, low carb candies and things like that.

[Buffy45]

Just got back from the little party I went to. Had 1 little cube of cheese and ice water, Whee! Party down!

Judy, have you made the clouds yet or just found the recipe? I keep meaning to make them but haven't yet.

Carolyn, you have been very very busy. Get some rest.

Metqa, don 't you just love TJ Maxx, I love to browse in there, you never know what you will find, one day to the next. Tried the avocado oil, nice, not much flavor but not a strong oil like OO can be at times. Picked up some extra light OO to try my hand at mayo. So many things to try, so little time.

Debby, you did get on getting some of your bookwork done, I still haven't finished my taxes.

[metqa]

Avocado oil sounds like a good candidate for homemade mayo, then.

Judy, the popcorn itself is NOT low carb, but what I did was I had a bag of Diabetisweet which is Ace-L and Isomalt. Isomalt can melt and caramelize with heat like sugar. So I put some in a pan with a splash of the caramel syrup and heat it till it all melts down and turns gooey, then when it bubbles and becomes thick I add a pat of butter and then pour it over the popcorn let it cool, and it tastes amazingly like caramel corn but has less sugar than real caramel syrup obviously cause it's just Diabetisweet and Davinci's. It's not low carb, but lower in sugar calories than the real thing. I used the mini 100 calorie packs of popcorn, it's just the right size. I made some for my mom who doesn't believe in low carb but believes in counting calories so it was a treat for her.

[JMCM1]

Wow - thank you for that caramel corn recipe.

We went to the fair last night. I've always gone to the fair to eat. We share food and throw away a great deal - we just want to taste different things. And my dh is type 1 diabetic... so it's a splurge we don't often allow ourselves.

I took the cornmeal coating off our corn dog (except for 1 bite). We got horrible ridiculously awful cheez-whiz nachos and I used the chips for the vehicle to get the cheese & peppers in my mouth - except for 2 chips.

My dh allowed himself the two scoops of homemade ice cream covered in hot fudge and I had one bite.

I was fascinated to get my meter and check my ketones -- .4. So technically I am out of ketosis, but technically .5 is the lowest number they consider 'in' ketosis.
I have been so perfect for so long and have not even wanted to go outside my normal way of eating I don't even feel bad.

Back on the wagon today! Carolyn I had secret plans to come up to Neewollah but after last night...I think I'll pass.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning at took my 2nd ever dose of 25mcg synthroid. I actually went back to sleep at around 6:30 and slept until 8:30 AM !

Just having the recipe for that popcorn makes me happy. I don't have to have everything, but I like knowing those types of foods are possible without abandoning all principles.
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to post a recipe or explain a method!

Buffy I bet I make those clouds today, but (cover your eyes Jess) I bet I add some pumpkin!

[Buffy45]

Judy, I have the Chocolate pecan pie muffins in the oven right now. I sure sure hope DD and I like them b/c I added twice as much butter as required, so then had to double everything else and it ended up making 24 muffins instead of 12, yikes!

Will make more pumpkin bake today and also have a cracker recipe I might get to. Will let you all know the results.

DD woke up to a 2 lb loss this AM, she is VERY happy.

[Shalbrihil]

Buffy you and your daughter are doing so well. I'm so excited for you both. I finally got my paper liners for my muffin tin so think I'm going to make those yummy moist pumpkin muffins again. This time there will be no sticking! We just loved how they turned out.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by Shalbrihil

Buffy you and your daughter are doing so well. I'm so excited for you both. I finally got my paper liners for my muffin tin so think I'm going to make those yummy moist pumpkin muffins again. This time there will be no sticking! We just loved how they turned out.

Thank you sooo much, the weight loss is slow but we both feel sooo much better and it is fun doing it together.

[Buffy45]

Ok the Chocolate Pecan Pie Muffins are very good, VERY VERY rich and that 90% chocolate, which you chop into chunks is really dark chocolate. But, the good thing, you really can only eat 1, they are that rich. Remind me of the pecan pie which has chocolate it it, just in a muffin form. I think you could bake it in a pie pan and cut very thin slices.
From my figures I came up a little different than Carolyn, who developed the recipe. Carolyn from All Day I Dream about Food.
My figures were: Cal - 305, carbs 9, fiber 4, fat 29, protein 7. So, the carbs are high if you would want to eat more than one. I really think a person could cut back on the nuts and the chocolate and they would be as good or better.

The pumpkin bake is out of the oven and cooled now as well.

[Buffy45]

Oh, BTW, right after I ate that muffin, I had a hot flash! Bam, it was like my metabolism went into overdrive, it was really interesting. Not sure if one had anything to do with the other?

[Buffy45]

Just made this mayo and it is very good and so easy a 4th grader, or and old lady like me could make it, haha. I didn't have dijon so just used yellow mustard. Made exactly as she described in the method.

Easy Two Egg Mayonaise

2 large eggs (at room temperature!)
2 Tbsp vinegar (I prefer plain cheap white)
1 Tbsp dijon mustard (more or less, to taste)
dashes of salt and pepper
2 Cups oil of choice
(I use light olive regularly, but I've switched in MCT oil and macadamia nut oil for about 1/2 a cup sometimes. The MCT makes it emulsify less well, but I've got a bunch to use up. But I didn't like the mac oil even at less than a quarter, so I've stayed away from other nut oils as well. I don't want my mayo to taste nutty, it tastes wrong to me but YMMV.)

For stick blender: Add ingredients in order to vessel of choice (I use a quart size mason jar so that I don't have to move the mayo). Put the stick in all the way to the bottom, turn it on and hold it there for about 20 seconds, until you can see the emulsion has taken over the bottom of the jar. Then move it up and down until all of the oil is incorporated.

For other methods: I wish you all of the luck I never had.

Note: Per the cookbook Nourishing Traditions, I also add about 2 Tbsp of whey from yogurt or sour cream at the end and let it sit a while on the counter, but this is totally optional. The whey is for durability and adding a bit of lacto-fermentation is never a bad thing.

About light olive oils, if they aren't processed with hexane, that fact will probably be somewhere on the label. Non-hexane processed light olive oil may be a little more golden, but it tastes just as neutral as the hexane processed stuff. And if you can't find a non-hexane processed oil, you're probably still better off using light olive oil than any other similarly priced oil simply because of the fatty acid profile. Everything else has signifigantly more PUFAs.

[DebbyL]

Hi gals,
I'm coming up for air... Did another month... 2 months more to finish clients year-end & be done with them... although I still don't have all their receipts.

I cut out all grains yesterday & today... no diff on scale this morning. So I will give it today & go back to what I was doing if no change.

Judy, when do you get your bone-density test results?

Buffy, I guess your taxes are due soon? How did that check do, that you had to collect in person? Did it pass the bank? Hope so.

Well, I'm torn between two things I don't want to do, no, make that 3...
* Preparation for Thanksgiving tomorrow
* Cleaning house for guests tomorrow
* Doing another month of books

If I pass enough time online, it will be my exercise time & I can skip them all!

[Buffy45]

DEbby, yes, taxes are due on the 15th, I do have quite a bit of it done, just put off finishing it up for some reason.

After another visit to the client, and yet another explanation, we were able to go to their bank and get a cashiers check. On the 2nd installment, they said to run it through, it would be good. Should know on that tomorrow. Thanks for asking.

I don't care for your choices, LOL Stay online, more fun!

I don't know how long it takes for a person to notice a difference if they give up grains? I pretty much have as well, at least as far as I know.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by DebbyL

Hi gals,
I'm coming up for air... Did another month... 2 months more to finish clients year-end & be done with them... although I still don't have all their receipts.

I cut out all grains yesterday & today... no diff on scale this morning. So I will give it today & go back to what I was doing if no change.

Judy, when do you get your bone-density test results?

Buffy, I guess your taxes are due soon? How did that check do, that you had to collect in person? Did it pass the bank? Hope so.

Well, I'm torn between two things I don't want to do, no, make that 3...
* Preparation for Thanksgiving tomorrow
* Cleaning house for guests tomorrow
* Doing another month of books

If I pass enough time online, it will be my exercise time & I can skip them all!

Debby I did so much all at once I'm not sure what to attribute to what. I felt so great at first, too. And as I said, I am not sure how bad I feel with thyroid - I could just tell it was 'different' and not in a good way.

I had horrible acid reflux, and I do have psoriasis (very very mild case) but my formerly pretty fingernails were starting to separate and break. After I started eating low carb and grain free, I have almost gotten myself off all acid reflux medication - most notably I'm no longer taking omeprazole which is tough to wean yourself from - you get a boomerang effect like crazy. It seems too soon, but my nails are long and healthy again. My energy went way up when I started eating this way.

Eventually I started wondering if it was kind of thyroidy to not be sleeping, so... I don't know. Sorry. And you may not be very grain sensitive and you are at your goal weight, aren't you? Or I thought so.

I'm with Buffy! Stay online and forget the rest of those boring choices!

Originally Posted by Buffy45

DEbby, yes, taxes are due on the 15th, I do have quite a bit of it done, just put off finishing it up for some reason.

After another visit to the client, and yet another explanation, we were able to go to their bank and get a cashiers check. On the 2nd installment, they said to run it through, it would be good. Should know on that tomorrow. Thanks for asking.

I don't care for your choices, LOL Stay online, more fun!

I don't know how long it takes for a person to notice a difference if they give up grains? I pretty much have as well, at least as far as I know.

The way you and your dd are feeling is how I felt and I think within a week's time.

Oh and I haven't had the bone scan yet - only the thyroid ultrasound and a blood draw. I am going to pick up a holter monitor Tuesday (that's what I get for complaining my heart feels like it's beating out of my chest ).
I'm not sure the bone scan has been scheduled yet. So many things at once! Thank you for asking!

AND BUFFY thank you so much for trying the pecan muffins. My dh ADORES pecan pie. He waits for Thanksgiving and Christmas so he can have his piece of pecan pie. He will be able to eat those muffins and enjoy them without his blood sugar shooting up to the sky!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

AND BUFFY thank you so much for trying the pecan muffins. My dh ADORES pecan pie. He waits for Thanksgiving and Christmas so he can have his piece of pecan pie. He will be able to eat those muffins and enjoy them without his blood sugar shooting up to the sky!

Might have already mentioned this but don't make the mistake that I did and add twice the amount of butter, then I had to go back and double everything else so ended up with 24 muffins. That is a lot when for DD and myself, I think we would definitely need to limit them to one a day or every other day. I hope they freeze well.

[DebbyL]

LOL... I knew I like you gals!

Well, I got one pumpkin pie done... its baking... & did another 1/2 hr of books... now its time to exercise! Love that!
See you later!

[Buffy45]

We like you too Debby

Regular pumpkin pie or a LC one? That pumpkin bake that is going around is great, tastes just like pumpkin pie to me.