Super Stay At Home Mommy!

Adventures in the life of a stay at home wife and mom

Low Carb Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner!

Alright, I know we’ve already passed up Thanksgiving, but it’s not too early to start thinking about some healthier option for your Christmas dinner!

Traditionally, most people have ham or turkey for Christmas (at least in my family we do!) Turkey and ham are both carb free, however, to keep it that way do not use any sort of sugars to cook your meat it– this means no honey ham! We don’t need to really add any more sugar to the holiday season anyways, do we? 🙂

Here’s so recipes for low carb sides to go with your meal:

Instead of mashed potatoes, try mashed cauliflower

And top those off with this low carb gravy

Who doesn’t love green bean casserole? HERE’s an alternative recipe

We can’t forget the cranberry sauce!

And deviled eggs are always a great, low carb go to.

With THIS recipe, you can even enjoy rolls!

And don’t forget my broccoli salad recipe! I made this for Thanksgiving, and used dried cranberries instead of grapes. It was a huge hit!

For dessert, try out these– Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pecan Pie

And the Atkins diet website has some great recipes for low carb COOKIES, too!

It IS possible to enjoy the holiday season without worrying about gaining those dreaded extra pounds!

thanksgiving-dinner

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Chicken Mango Kabobs

This whole summer has flown by in the blink of an eye!! I can’t believe it’s Fall already! But, if you’re still able to find some yummy looking mangoes at the store, then you MUST try this recipe! My husband is doing P90x and is subscribed to the email newsletters. A few weeks ago he received an email with this recipe in it, and we just had to try it. I can only describe them in one word– DELICIOUS!! They are spicy, sweet, tangy, a great mixture of flavors that will leave you craving more!

Chicken Mango Kabobs

  • 1 tsp. lime rind, grated
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (plus extra to grease grill surface)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut in 1-inch chunks
  • 2 tsp. honey
  • 2 mangoes
  • 1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 1 small red or sweet onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • Medium bowl
  • Large bowl
  • 8 skewers
  • Brush for marinade

Light charcoal grill or preheat gas grill. In a small bowl, create marinade by whisking together lime rind, lime juice, oil, garlic, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Place chicken chunks in large bowl. Pour half of marinade over chicken, toss to coat, and let stand for 20 minutes. Stir honey into remaining marinade, cover, and refrigerate until needed. Cut mango flesh from each side of pit. Cut mango flesh in a grid pattern of 3/4-inch squares down to but not through the skin. Gently push skin to turn inside out and cut off the flesh. Alternately thread mango, pepper, onion, and chicken pieces onto each of 8 skewers. Brush with half of the reserved honey marinade. (Discard marinade that chicken soaked in.) Lightly grease grill surface and place kabobs on it over medium-high heat; close lid and grill, turning and basting kabobs once with remaining honey marinade until fruit is softened and chicken is browned and cooked through (with no pink inside) and juices run clear (about 8 minutes). Makes 4 servings (2 skewers each).

Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 minutes

And even better, they are high in protein and low in calories and carbs. Nothing like a delicious meal that’s healthy too!
**Note** Don’t forget- if you use bamboo skewers, you MUST soak them in water first! Otherwise they will catch fire on the grill… Guess who forgot to soak the skewers– yep, that would be me. Ours still turned out tasty though, our skewers where just a touch burned. lol.

 

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Low Carb Recipes

This is going to sound a little strange…. after much research I have finally found a low carb substitute to use in place of MANY things. I know, you’re all anxiously waiting on the edge of your seat to find out what this miracle ingredient is. I’ll tell you one thing, it’s nothing you’d ever expect. The one thing that you should always have in your house (to help make your low carb diet successful) is…… PORK RINDS!!

Crazy, right? They have zero carbs and virtually zero flavor, and they make for a great secret ingredient in some unexpected places.

Here’s just a few of the recipes we’ve tried using pork rinds–

Breading Chicken- Crush your pork rinds and use as you would use breadcrumbs on chicken

Meatloaf– Use in place of breadcrumbs

Pancakes– Yep, I said it, pancakes. It’s tough to get past the idea of eating pork rinds in your pancakes, but it’s actually quite yummy. I follow this recipe.

Pizza Crust– I’ve been searching high and low for the perfect low carb pizza crust, and I think this one may be it! I use this recipe

And there’s many more that I haven’t tried yet. Cheesecake crust, nachos, bread pudding, believe it or not the list goes on and on. Let me know what you’ve tried and how you like it!!

Here’s the pork rind pizza I made. It was tasty!

 

***We’re leaving for Missouri tomorrow and will be gone for a week! I’ll be taking a break from blogging, but will do a post on “traveling with a toddler” when we return! Everyone have a wonderful week!

 

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza- LOW CARB!!

Jason and I have been working on losing weight. I gained 60 lbs when I was pregnant (Ugh, I know!), and now that she’s 1.5 I guess baby weight is no longer an excuse for why I’m overweight. lol. Anyways, we have cut out all junk food, sugar, bad carbs, etc and have both lost quite a bit of weight. One thing that I’ve struggled with is finding healthy recipes to replace some of our not-so-healthy cravings. Pizza is a bad one for me. I LOVE pizza. So, I’m trying out a few different low carb variations. The one we tried this week was the cauliflower crust pizza from Spark Recipes. It was actually pretty good. Not sure if I’d really call it a pizza, as you can’t pick it up and eat it with your hands. Although, if you read the comments, some people suggest using raw cauliflower and say that it comes out better. I’ll have to remember that for next time!

Here’s the recipe for you to try at home!

 

Minutes to Prepare: 15
Minutes to Cook: 20
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

Cauliflower, frozen, cooked, riced, 1 cup
Egg, fresh, 1 large
Cheddar Cheese, 1 cup, shredded
Fennel, 1/2 tsp
Oregano, ground, 1 tsp
Parsley, dried, 2 tsp

Directions

Rice or finely chop the cauliflower. Beat egg, add the cauliflower, and shredded cheese. Mix, then press into a greased pizza pan then sprinkle with the spices. Bake at 450 for 12 to 15 minutes. If you double the recipe cook 15 to 20 minutes.

Add desired pizza topping such as red sauce, mushrooms, green pepper, onions, cheese, etc. Bake until brown and cheese is bubbly.

This makes four pieces.

Number of Servings: 4

**Thought I’d add…. When the recipe says to “rice” the cauliflower here’s what it means:  How to rice cauliflower

I prepared ours in a cake pan, and topped it with cheese and turkey pepperoni. YUM!

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Easter Fun!!

I have been trying to just post once or twice a week, but with Easter quickly approaching, I wanted to squeeze in one more post this week. I don’t know about you, but the I don’t like the idea of stuffing my kid full of Easter candy. Instead, I have created a list of fun ideas to fill Easter baskets with. I also compiled a list of crafts and activities that you can enjoy with your kiddos!

Easter Basket Goodies!

-Coloring Books

-Crayons

-Books

-Sidewalk Chalk (Learn how to make your own HERE)

– Finger Paint (Learn how to make your own HERE)

-New Swimsuit For The Coming Summer Season

-Easter Outfit

-Bubbles

-Kite

-Playdough (Learn how to make your own HERE)

-Flubber (Learn how to make it HERE)

-Stuffed Animals

-Bath Time Toys

-Outside toys

-Fill Plastic Eggs With Tastey Snacks (goldfish, Cheerios, etc)

-Sippy Cup, or Character Cup For an Older Kid

– Movies

– Hair Clips/Bows (This is where I get mine- F&F Creations– She does great work, and will do custom orders!)

– Stickers

-Plastic Eggs Filled with Little Toys

These Worksheets

-New Toothbrush

-Toothpaste

The possibilities are endless! Let’s try not to stuff our kids full of sweets this year!

And here are some great crafts and activities I’ve come across– Lots of Easter fun!!

Felt Easter Birdy

Paper-Napkin Decoupage Eggs

Easter Egg Coloring Tips

25 DIY Easter Projects

101 Easter Craft Ideas

Temporary Tattoos on Eggs

Easter Egg Hunt Activities

Bubble Wrap Easter Eggs

Plastic Egg Animals

HAVE FUN!!!

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