Better Half was craving shepherd's pie last weekend, so I decided to make two versions: his normal high-carb version and a low-carb version for myself.  The obvious answer to transforming this into low-carb fare is to use fauxtatoes in place of the mashed potatoes and substitute some green veggies for the corn/peas/carrots combo seen in traditional shepherd's pies.  Many probably use green beans, but I am not a huge fan.  While I don't despise them, I would not shed a tear if I never ate another green bean in my life.  I decided to try something different and used mushrooms, onions and brussel sprouts.  I was quite pleased with how this turned out!

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2-4 tbs bacon grease, butter or oil of choice
4 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
10 or so brussel sprouts, roughly chopped into quarters
Double batch prepared fauxtatoes (this is Dana Carpender's recipe, which is what I basically follow)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Brown the ground beef in a skillet, and season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper (add more or less to taste).
3) Drain the beef (not because the fat is evil but because you don't want the pie to be greasy) and place in a layer on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
4) In the same skillet, melt 1/2 the the bacon grease and saute the mushrooms and onions until soft.
5) Layer the mushrooms and onions on top of the beef in the casserole dish.
6) In the same skillet, melt the remaining bacon grease.
7) Saute the brussel sprouts, stirring frequently, until they begin to turn dark brown. Don't worry that they are falling apart.
8) Layer the sprouts on top of of the mushroom/onion mixture.
9) Layer the fauxtatoes on top of the sprouts.
10) Top with the cheddar cheese
11) Bake in oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the cheese just starts to brown.

Makes about 6 servings.

Carb counts coming as soon as I get my lazy butt in gear and input everything into my software.

It's that time of year.  People are full of regrets and vow to restart their diets and stick with them this time!  I expect many people are relaunching their low-carb diet plans, going back to induction.  I'm no exception.  While I didn't completely lose it over the holidays, I definitely indulged a bit too often and completely stalled my weight loss. 

I'm not necessarily 'restarting Atkin's induction' because I've been following Bernstein's diet plan more so than Atkins.  For anyone that has diabetes and hasn't read it yet, I highly recommend Bernstein's book.  He teaches you how to tailor your carb intake to your particular needs, but generally prescribes very low carb consumption for the rest of your life  His philosophy is that you can't make huge mistakes with your blood sugar/insulin control if you are only eating small amounts of carbohydrates.  The general rule for his plan is 6/12/12, which is 6 grams of carbs for breakfast, 12 for lunch, and 12 for dinner, without snacking in between (he subtracts 1/2 the fiber carbs from the count vs all of them in Atkins).  Many people would run scared from this formula, because diets like Atkins allow you to start adding carbs back into your diet, but this means you must severely limit yourself for the rest of your life.  Diabetics must come to terms with the fact that we will never be able to eat many carbohydrates.  We must readjust our mind to come to terms with it.  When the trade-off to eating carbs is losing a limb or going blind, it seems like it SHOULD be a much easier thing to do than it actually is!

However, it truly amazes me how much of a psychological impact carb cravings have.  Even though I feel 1000% better when I'm not devouring carbs, and I can generally make pretty decent tasting low-carb food, I still constantly want the m&ms, fries and potato chips.  Part of it for me is sheer convenience.  Fast food is so much faster and easier than cooking, and after working a full day, I absolutely hate cooking.  My better half doesn't understand why I hate cooking so much when he says that I do it so well (I think he's just brown-nosing to get me to make some more deviled eggs soon). 

I don't know what the solution is except to just grit my teeth and push forward with sheer willpower.  Maybe eventually it won't seem like such a chore, but I know that it's something that I absolutely must do.  Living a long life with all of my limbs and sight intact is much more important than my hatred of meal prep.  In the meantime, I will continue posting any recipes that I come up with that I believe are worthy to be shared.

I hope everyone is having an easier time with their New Year's resolutions!

Just wanted to drop a line to everyone who reads this.  I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!  I have not been completely diligent with my diet, but I have not dived off the deep end either.  My main goal is to get to January 1st without gaining any of my lost weight back then to hit it hard again. 

So please be patient with me, and I promise to have more recipes posted soon!

I have no idea how this recipe holds up to a truly authentic recipe, since the only Italian wedding soup I'd ever eaten came out of a can.  I've been craving soup lately with the cold temperatures and needed a change from clam chowder (though I still love that recipe).  I whipped this up last weekend and was very pleased with the results.

Italian Wedding Soup
For the meatballs:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (ground)
1 lb hamburger
1 cup parmesan cheese (I used the canned, not fresh)
1 tbs dried basil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 large eggs

For the soup:
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional but I think it added a nice touch of flavor)
10 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
3 large eggs
1 bunch of fresh baby spinach, approx 5 oz, roughly chopped (I just bought the prepackaged stuff in the salad section)


To make the meatballs:
1) Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2) Mix all ingredients in a big bowl, until everything is fully incorporated (I just use my hands).
3) Form into roughly 1 inch sized meatballs.  The size is really personal preference.  While I actually enjoy the soup with a bunch of very small meatballs, I had no patience to follow through and made slightly larger meatballs.  You really want them to at least be small enough to fit on a spoon.
4) Place meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake in oven for about 30 minutes, until browned.

To make the soup:
1) While the meatballs are browning in the oven, add the olive oil to a heavy stock pot and heat on medium heat.
2) Saute the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes.
3) Add the dry white wine and chicken stock to the pot and stir, bring to a low boil.
4) Whisk the eggs in a bowl.  Once the soup is boiling, slowly drizzle the beaten eggs into the soup while stirring in a circular motion.  The egg will form thin strands that substitute nicely for pasta and also thicken the soup (just like Chinese egg drop soup).
5) Once the meatballs are brown, add them to the pot and stir.
6) Reduce heat, add the remaining spices and spinach and simmer until the spinach is limp.

I do not have the nutrition information yet, but this makes about 8 good size servings of soup and there are aren't many carbs in the entire pot. 

Nothing terribly new to report.  I didn't lose any weight and didn't gain any weight, though I lost another inch in my waist, so that's good! 

Work is busy, as is usual this time of year.  I've never quite understood why companies schedule massive deadlines at year end when everyone is in a merry, want to goof-off, holiday mode.  Not to mention that our vacation days don't carry over, so most are scrambling to use up the rest of their time, leaving the cubicle farm fairly empty in December.

I've been in a sort of diet ennui lately.  In summer, I crave salads and light fare, but in the winter, I just want to hunker down with a big bowl of stew and half a loaf of bread in my fist and dig right in.  I've tried to make a few new dishes but nothing has been good enough to post, in my opinion. 

I've been making the clam chowder quite often--I really love that recipe.  I've varied it a few times depending on what I have in my crisper that needs to be eaten.  I made it with asparagus once and that turned out really nice.  My mom says she's made it with turnips and liked it, but I honestly don't miss the potatoes or potato texture at all.  I've also made the crab cakes as tuna cakes, which I really enjoyed (Mom's idea--she's a better cook than I am!).  I followed the same basic recipe, using three cans of tuna (drained well), adding the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 stalk of celery, finely minced.  The cakes didn't stay together too well, but they were extremely tasty with some tartar sauce.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the holiday season and keeping to their diets as best they can.