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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Broccoli Salad- With Walnuts and Grapes

I’m back!! We finally got all the kinks worked out, and I’m back to blogging. I have a SUPER yummy recipe to share with you today.

While we were visiting my parents in Missouri, we had this delicious broccoli salad. I have been trying to recreate something similar to it (with my own twist) since we got back home. What I ended up with isn’t exactly like what we had, but it is pretty darn yummy! Here’s what I did…..

Broccoli Salad

1 large head of broccoli
1 cup mayo
2 Tbsp spicy mustard (I actually use a little more because I like the taste of mustard)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
A dash of Cayenne pepper
1/4 Walnuts, chopped
Red grapes
 
Finely chop the broccoli. I run mine through the food processor- fast and easy! Pour into bowl. Add mayo, mustard, lemon juice, and cayenne. Mix well. Add walnuts and grapes, mix again. Serve.
 
***Please add to, or take from, this recipe as you wish. I am not 100% positive on all the measurements I used because I sort of add things, taste, add some more, etc. I will edit the post next time I make this salad to get more accurate measurements- I was just too excited to share it with you all! Enjoy!!
 
 
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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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Grilled Romaine Salad

I had seen this recipe on a show on Food Network, and thought it sounded a bit strange. But then my in-laws tried it and went on about how delicious it was…. So, curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to try it to. Let me tell you, I am in LOVE! This is how I want my salad every night for dinner 🙂

Mmmmm..... Grilling it brings out so many flavors in the romaine. You have to try this, so tasty!

Here’s the recipe via Food Network

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads romaine lettuce
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

Preheat a grill to medium-high.

Rinse and pat dry the lettuce. Cut the 2 heads in half lengthwise. Brush surface with olive oil and grill about 4 to 5 minutes total, turning occasionally. Place each wedge on a salad plate and drizzle with your favorite Caesar dressing. With a vegetable peeler, shave some pieces from a wedge of Reggiano-Parmigiano over each salad and serve.

**I add some salt and pepper to the lettuce after brushing it with olive oil, and we use just plain old Parmesan cheese. I do drizzle mine with a little Caesar dressing, but it actually tastes delicious without any dressing at all. Enjoy!

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