Low Carb Dark Cocoa Cupcakes

I've been working on these cupcakes for a month.

At least.

I was seriously dying for something cake-like to put in my mouth without making my diet run for the hills. I came up with a few recipes that I thought were pretty good. But after having children test them, and wrinkle their noses, I knew. It had been a while since I've had a good muffin/cupcake. Long enough that I didn't even realize how incredibly incredible a chocolate cupcake is.

So, here's my last version. What I came up with after trial by....chocolate?

Random Notes

It's been sunny and warmish the last few days.

Not sure what's going on with Mother Nature. Surely she's confused.

I haven't been doing much baking. I have approximately a week and a half left on my diet. I have 4 pounds to go to my goal weight. Yippee!!

After the fireman and I lost our holiday weight, we each decided to go down a few more pounds than our goal weight last year on the Dukan Diet.

My mom and dad are now on the Dukan Diet and are doing well, as is my sister! Go family!

So, I haven't been baking.

I haven't been cooking all that much either. The hubby's been grilling. It's been so nice outside! And then last night, I made Ham & Pineapple. It was good, by the way. I didn't eat any pineapple....

The fireman made twice baked potatoes for the girl, without the skin. I know, she's strange. She ate it all warmed up and melty in a bowl. Sounds kinda good, actually.

And I had a cold. Boo.

I tried Julian's Smart Carb bread last night. Our local natural foods store has it. It's net 1 carb per slice. It's loaded with dietary fibers from sprouted grains and seeds that are easily digested. I put a slice of it in the toaster oven with two slices of deli ham and a slice of swiss cheese and toasted it.

Oh, yum.

I will get back to the cooking/baking soon. The brick wall is coming along well. I'll be able to update with the backside soon! The fireman is crazy focused on getting it done. I'll probably work on it some tonight.

We're also working on reorganizing our pantry/freezer. It gets stuffed full and then we don't know what we've got in there. I don't like doing the whole, what's for dinner thing. So, we're making a list. A dinner ideas list and a 'what's in the freezer' list.

And just because I got her to sit still long enough. A picture of the kitty, Willow.

 We rescued her from a shelter a year or so ago. She's sweet, she's pretty. She's tiny, about 8 pounds.

She likes to sleep on our clothes.

Dilly Egg Cups

Some mornings you have to get up early.

But you still want to eat a healthy breakfast, give yourself a decent protein start for the day, you know, without adding a ton of fat.

Sweet Fluffy Omelet, Revisited

I have adjusted my recipe for the sweet, fluffy omelet. I really only changed it by adding a 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch and a tablespoon of milk. But since it's different, and I've gotten better at the cooking and all, I figured I'd post a revisited tutorial.

Besides, my sister asked me to.

Eggplant Casserole

I've been trying to make healthier foods. Meals that are Dukan-friendly. Cause that works well for me and the fireman for losing weight and keeping that weight off.

I truly believe it's healthier, because it's low in fat and low in carbohydrates. Carbs aren't bad, but I really believe we don't need as much as we are used to eating, in our society.

Wheat is much different today than it was when we first starting introducing it into our diets. 

Carbs are great when you're trying to stretch a meal. Add a potato, or rice to soup or stew and it's thicker, richer and people get full faster. That was really important when there wasn't much food to go around and everyone worked physically hard.

I don't work physically hard.

I excercise 3 times per week. It's a modest workout. I want to do as little as possible to get maximum results, a little cardio, a little weight work on arms, ab work and thigh work. Done. Oh, and occasionally Yoga for stretching and relaxing. I have a beginners DVD I use.

It works for me. That being said, every body is different and I think there's a lot to that. What works for one doesn't always work for another. I think some bodies just don't do as well with certain foods.

So, last night I wanted lasagna. Since I'm back on my Dukan diet for a couple of weeks to shed some holiday pounds, I couldn't have the noodles.

Chicken Marsala

First off, I'd like to say that I wasn't happy with how these pictures came out. But the meal was just so darn good, so I decided to post it anyway. I've been sitting on it for the last couple of weeks trying to decide if I should use them or not.

High Fiber Pasta Love

I just wanted to share with you a high fiber, lower net carb pasta that discovered, Ronzoni Smart Taste, Spaghetti.

I try to watch my carb intake, but loooooove carbs.

I could eat pasta plain.

Give me a bowl of any pasta with some butter with a little salt and I'm in heaven!

Sweet Fluffy Omelet

This recipe was found in one of my mom's old cookbooks. When I found it, I was in the middle of the Dukan Diet and frustrated because I couldn't do much to 'treat' myself. I tried a lot of the Dukan 'desserts' with no success. A few of them actually went down the sink. I was allowed all the lean protein I wanted, so milk, low fat (no fat) cheeses and eggs (two yolks) were fine. Also, sweeteners are allowed, in moderation. I finally found stevia as being the only sweetener I could use that I could stand. I don't like the idea of the chemical sweeteners, but stevia is natural, from a plant. It does taste slightly different, but if you're not overloading the sweetness, you hardly notice. Especially if you haven't had anything sweet lately.

This recipe is as it was listed in the cookbook. It wasn't listed as a diet recipe. I believe it's French in origin and takes a few minutes to make, so I don't make it everyday, otherwise, I definitely would.

Dieting success

I am pleased to say that the Dukan diet did what it promised for me. I reached 167 10 days before planned, and have successfully went into stage 3 Consolidation with success.

One of the things that I really like about this diet is that it has timelines for the diet. You know that if you do (these) things you will get (these) results and by (this) date. It helps keep the determination. The second most important thing is that it tells you how to reenter the normal eating world. The 3rd phase is all about adding normal food back to the diet and keeping the weight off. It's as important as the entire diet. Actually, the time you spend in it is longer than the first two phases.

Most diet's get you to a goal and then, poof, leave you dry. What do you do now? How do you eat? Do you stay on it your whole life? Who can do that?

Diet Update

Well, the diet has been going well. I am down to 170 and my goal is 167. So, I'm in the long stretch, folks. The girl and I are leaving on a jet plane to Denver, Friday morning for my cousins wedding.

I have 3 lbs to lose. I realllllly want wedding cake.

Once I meet my goal, the next phase of the diet is consolidation phase. In this phase, you take 5 days for each pound lost. So, I have to stay in it for about 2 months. BUT it's super easy and the equivalent easy dieting. I add 2 pieces of wheat bread or tortillas per day, 1 cup-sized serving of fruit and 1-2 starches per week. AND I get 1-2 celebration meals per week. Meaning, anything you want as long as it's only 1 serving size. That's including dessert.

This phase is because my body is stripping every calorie from my food as it's burning faster. Our bodies are programmed to store fat and we are more likely to gain back weight lost from a diet right away as your body is trying to regain what you've lost. So, this phase lets us slowly feel comfortable with the weight and add foods back in slowly and just maintain our new weight.

If I can lose the last 3 lbs in the next week, I can use the wedding night for my first celebration meal.

It keeps me focused.

Hubby is officially at his halfway mark. He's doing great. The diet is so easy for him since he loves meat, that he's content with it and happily working towards his second half.

Birthday's and Floorboards

Friday was my birthday and yesterday was the fireman and my 2nd anniversary! We've been on the town!

I turned 31. Yipes! And we went to see Crazy, Stupid Love, with Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore. Amazing movie, by the way. Seriously funny and seriously sweet. And ate supper at the Flat Top Grill. Yum.... and surprisingly healthy. He got me a really nice slim Nikon camera for my birthday! No more out of focus camera pics here, folks! He knows me so well, It' purple.

The Bathroom

This bathroom has been a work in project for quite some time.

At one point it was finished, as a full, large shower only with white 4x4 tile above the shower walls and across the ceiling.

Then, the shower pan cracked, manufacturer's fault, credit was issued and I was able to persuade hubby to a nice, large tub. I love a good soak.

Hubby had to rip out the tile to take down the shower walls, to get to the shower pan.

So, we ordered the tub, but we got stuck working on the livingroom and the roof, and the beautiful tub sat in the garage.

We have another shower downstairs, by the way.

We finished getting the remainder of the ceiling tile out of the shower area and the ceiling was open to the attic for a couple of days.

Yesterday, the fireman got the green board up.

Love affairs, beef and dieting.

So, my ceiling rocks socks.

I heart my ceiling.

That sounds strange, but I don't care. I'm in a love affair with my ceiling and you can't tell me it's wrong.

My parents came to visit Saturday afternoon, we took them to supper. We double dated with my parents.