Thousand Island Dressing

Thousand Island Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/4 cup chili sauce
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 TBS chopped green pepper
2 TBS chopped celery
1-1/2 TBS finely chopped onion
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt

Combine mayonnaise or salad dressing, chili sauce, hard-cooked eggs, green pepper, celery, onion, paprika, and salt; stir together till well mixed.  Store in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator.  Serve with tossed salad.  Makes about 2 cups (Knox, 1978, p. 178).

Volley's Note(s): I use pickle relish instead of green pepper (I can't eat bell peppers) and it is very good.  I also make sure that everything, not just the onion, is finely chopped.

	Nutrition Facts   16 Servings Amount Per Serving   Calories 103.8   Total Fat 10.7 g       Saturated Fat 1.7 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g       Monounsaturated Fat 0.3 g   Cholesterol 26.9 mg   Sodium 200.0 mg   Potassium 19.3 mg   Total Carbohydrate 1.4 g       Dietary Fiber 0.1 g       Sugars 0.8 g   Protein 0.9 g   Vitamin A 2.8 %   Vitamin B-12 1.7 %   Vitamin B-6 1.0 %   Vitamin C 2.2 %   Vitamin D 0.0 %   Vitamin E 3.3 %   Calcium 0.6 %   Copper 0.3 %   Folate 1.1 %   Iron 0.9 %   Magnesium 0.4 %   Manganese 0.4 %   Niacin 0.2 %   Pantothenic Acid     1.3 %   Phosphorus     1.6 %   Riboflavin 2.3 %   Selenium 3.1 %   Thiamin 0.6 %   Zinc 0.7 % *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Nutritional Information from SparkPeople Recipe Builder

Squash Fritters

This is my granny's recipe.  I've had to make only one substitution to low-carb it.  The original recipe called for Pioneer Baking Mix; I used almond flour instead.

Mix the following ingredients:
1/3 cup almond flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups grated yellow squash
 




Heat 2 to 4 TBS of butter (or coconut oil) in a heavy skillet.  Using a large serving spoon, dip the squash mix into small mounds and spread out a little.

Saute on each side for about 3 minutes--until cooked through, but not too dark.

Remove cooked fritters from skillet and drain on a paper towel.

Divide into 4 servings and serve with a few drops of sugar-free ketchup on each patty.  Don't use too much...it will mask the delicious taste of the fritters.

 

Four servings with 2.2 nC each.

	Nutrition Facts   4 Servings Amount Per Serving   Calories 125.3   Total Fat 9.1 g       Saturated Fat 2.3 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g       Monounsaturated Fat 1.6 g   Cholesterol 97.4 mg   Sodium 152.5 mg   Potassium 189.7 mg   Total Carbohydrate 3.8 g       Dietary Fiber 1.6 g       Sugars 1.6 g   Protein 8.4 g   Vitamin A 6.1 %   Vitamin B-12 5.5 %   Vitamin B-6 8.5 %   Vitamin C 16.0 %   Vitamin D 5.0 %   Vitamin E 12.1 %   Calcium 12.4 %   Copper 1.6 %   Folate 7.2 %   Iron 5.4 %   Magnesium 9.8 %   Manganese 5.0 %   Niacin 1.5 %   Pantothenic Acid     1.2 %   Phosphorus     12.2 %   Riboflavin 11.1 %   Selenium 2.5 %   Thiamin 2.0 %   Zinc 4.4 % *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Nutrition info from SparkPeople Recipe Builder

Commitment--and "Cheating"

I want to talk about commitment today--specifically, cheating.  We've all posted that we've "cheated," but what does that really mean?  We don't cheat on a test in school.  I wouldn't cheat on my husband--no matter what he'd done to me.  Why do I cheat on myself, on my health, on my life-expectancy, and quality of life? 

Now I want to talk about commitment.  Have we actually made a commitment to ourselves?  It’s easy to cheat if you don’t feel committed.  Is our real problem cheating—or is it that we haven’t fully committed? 

What is commitment?  Dictionary.com says that commitment is “the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself” and “a pledge or promise; obligation” and “engagement; involvement.”  The examples given by Dictionary.com are: 1) “We have made a commitment to pay our bills on time” and “They have a sincere commitment to religion.”

There are many types of commitment.  People commit to a person in marriage—or even in child-rearing.  People commit to a sports team—whether a professional team or an amateur one.  People commit to a lifestyle—whether it is a way of eating or a number of visits each week to a gym. 

Have we made a true commitment to this way of life?  Have we pledged ourselves to becoming healthy, to the Atkins Nutritional Approach (ANA)?  Maybe we have engaged ourselves, but not made a commitment. 

If we've made a commitment to ourselves, why are we cheating?  Are we afraid of success?  We can sabotage our relationship with health the same way we sabotage our relationships with others--or the way they sabotage their relationship with us.

We would never cheat on our boyfriend or ‘fall off the wagon’ with our religion, why do we cheat on ourselves?  Cheating on a diet is not the same as cheating on a boyfriend, but let’s make a comparison anyway.  We wouldn’t consider it cheating on a boyfriend to look at a man at a wedding, but it would be cheating to take him into the bushes and have it on with him.  By the same token, we wouldn’t consider it cheating to look at that wedding cake, but it would be cheating to eat it.   How strong is our commitment?   

Perhaps you think it is crazy to compare commitment to a diet/lifestyle with commitment to a relationship.  But, is it?  After all, our ability to commit is part of our character.  We’re lucky that, unlike other character traits, the ability to commit is one that can be nurtured and grown. Are we going to do this, or not?  

Are you afraid of commitment?  Take this test and see how your underlying fears might be sabotaging your success. Are you afraid of commitment?

My Personal Independence Day

This is my annual repost of the blog I originally posted 07/05/05 (on another site):

This July 4th marks my own declaration of independence. The idea was born in the last week of June and solidified into a statement this weekend.

Here is my declaration of independence: I will no longer make excuses for those who neglect me or mistreat me.

Maybe that doesn't sound monumental to you, but it is a monumental decision for me. In the past, I've made excuses for those I loved. My husband couldn't get a job? I understood he was depressed and got a job myself to support the family. Meanwhile, he ran around on me while I was at work and/or lived off me and pulled me deeper in debt. My boyfriend didn't call? He was busy and I needed to give him space. What a chump I was!

All this "understanding" only led to the long, drawn out murder of the relationship. And, only last week, I decided "NO MORE!" OK, so I'm a slow-learner.

This is what I've gotten from my declaration of independence...I don't have to feel guilty because I break up with someone who doesn't meet my needs. Breaking up with him doesn't mean he's a bad person or I'm a bad person--it just means that, together, we aren't good.

Last week, I faced the fact that the thrill I felt when my boyfriend called did not make up for the 3 or 4 days between calls. I had to admit that I NEED more attention than he gave. I'd explained to him how I felt when he called, hoping that would spur him to call more often. It didn't. I decided I didn't want to spend any more time feeling neglected.

So, here I am making my declaration of independence--not from a man, but from my own insecurities. I will face my needs squarely and not compromise on the meeting of those needs. It's a great, big world out there and I will eventually meet the one whose needs are met through filling my needs--and whose needs I meet as well.

I didn't come to this conclusion until recently. If I'd come to it earlier, I would have saved myself, and others, a bit of pain. However, I think that everything that has happened to me so far has made me who I am today--and I like that person, so I don't want to change the past. I just want a little more control over my future.

Planning Ahead: Chili

One of the most important components of the Atkins Nutritional Approach (ANA) is planning ahead.  I used to keep cans of chili (no beans) in the pantry, but I don't like all the fillers used in commercially canned chili.  Whenever I make soup or chili, I can the leftovers.  This week, I've been canning chili on purpose--not from the leftovers.

Instead of using the packet of chili mix that I've used in the past, I used: Linda's Southwestern Chili Con Carne this week.

You start out with 2 lbs of ground meat and the ingredients shown below (follow the link above for the whole recipe).  I forgot to put the garlic in the picture, and I used jalapenos instead of bell peppers, but you get the idea.

 I used ground chicken, which is a lot less expensive than the beef, so it is extra pink.  By the end of cooking, the meat is a nice, brown color, so don't worry about it.  Note the cool utensil--it's made specifically for breaking up ground meat while browning--it's a Pampered Chef tool that I use quite often.

One the meat and onions are browned--add the tomatoes and spices.  Follow the directions in the recipe.

At this point, you can portion out and serve to your family or preserve for later.  Some people freeze single-serving portions, but Hurricane Season is here and I don't like to take a chance on frozen foods at this time of year.  Besides, when I can things, the kids can open a jar and fix dinner without having to wait for something to thaw.

Linda's recipe makes 6 servings--or 3 pint jars.  Though each jar would be two servings for my daughter or me, my son will probably make each jar one serving.  Later this week, I'll make more--I need to have about a case (12 jars) in the pantry.