Archive for June, 2007
What is Real Beauty?
I was fascinated by the Dove commercial called Evolution. It actually began on the Internet. I read this morning that it won the 2007 Cannes Film Grand Prix which is the big prize for people in the advertising industry. I was glad to read that because I think the advertisers have been going in the wrong direction regarding beauty.
You can click on the commercial and view it for yourself. But it really does show how our standards of beauty are pretty screwed up. An ordinary looking woman is transformed into a cover girl "beauty" with the help of makeup, hair and of course photo refinishing and touchup. Her face is plastered on a huge billboard as two young women walking by check it out. Do they really know that she doesn't really look like that? The message that women often get is that they need to measure up to that perfection, which actually is not perfection at all.
No wonder so many young girls are dieting and dealing with addictions and eating disorders. It's unrealistic to look like the ads in the magazines or the celebrities they see at the grocery checkout stand. What ever happened to the wholesome look? And whatever happened to developing those inner qualities?
How does this come back to choices? We have a choice to accept what "they" are telling us is fashionable and beautiful or to discard it and decide for ourselves. By the way, who exactly are "they" and why should we listen to them? I think it's normal to want to be pretty and to look nice but the obsession with being just like the images on billboards, magazines and in the movies is so impractical. I think we need to focus on the other qualities of honesty, intelligence, doing what is right, knowing what we believe and why. I've learned over the years that beauty only lasts so long. As I look in the mirror and see far too many wrinkles, I'm glad that I attempted to also focus on other areas of my life.
So, I'm thrilled with this Dove Evolution commercial. May young women view this and realize they are each beautiful in their own very special way.
You can click on the commercial and view it for yourself. But it really does show how our standards of beauty are pretty screwed up. An ordinary looking woman is transformed into a cover girl "beauty" with the help of makeup, hair and of course photo refinishing and touchup. Her face is plastered on a huge billboard as two young women walking by check it out. Do they really know that she doesn't really look like that? The message that women often get is that they need to measure up to that perfection, which actually is not perfection at all.
No wonder so many young girls are dieting and dealing with addictions and eating disorders. It's unrealistic to look like the ads in the magazines or the celebrities they see at the grocery checkout stand. What ever happened to the wholesome look? And whatever happened to developing those inner qualities?
How does this come back to choices? We have a choice to accept what "they" are telling us is fashionable and beautiful or to discard it and decide for ourselves. By the way, who exactly are "they" and why should we listen to them? I think it's normal to want to be pretty and to look nice but the obsession with being just like the images on billboards, magazines and in the movies is so impractical. I think we need to focus on the other qualities of honesty, intelligence, doing what is right, knowing what we believe and why. I've learned over the years that beauty only lasts so long. As I look in the mirror and see far too many wrinkles, I'm glad that I attempted to also focus on other areas of my life.
So, I'm thrilled with this Dove Evolution commercial. May young women view this and realize they are each beautiful in their own very special way.
Sour Cream Spinach
This is a new recipe for my family by Dana Carpender's 15 minute Low Carb Recipes.
Wow!! All I can say is this was FABULOUS. I mean it, it's going to be a favorite and used over and over again! My husband, who does not like spinach said "Hmm, tastes like yard greens". So he didn't eat it! LOL But please remember he doesn't like cooked spinach. So take the cue that if you have a non-spinach lover, this one will NOT win them over. But if you like spinach, you'll most likely like this.
It has a very slightly tangy taste and creamy all at the same time.
Sour Cream Spinach
10 ounces frozen spinach
2 ounces frozen onions
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Take spinach out of packaging and put in microwave safe bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of water, cover and zap it on High for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile in a large skillet, start sauteing the onion in the butter over medium-high heat.
When the microwave goes "ding", check to see if the spinach is done - you want it good and hot right through, but not cooked to death. If there's still a cold spot in the middle, stir in and put it back for another 2 minutes on High.
When the spinach is cooked and the onion is translucent, drain the spinach and stir it into the onion, combining well. Stir in the sour cream and the vinegar, heat it through without letting it simmer, then serve.
1/3 recipe yields:
Calories: 106
Fat: 8
Sat. Fat: 5
Carbs: 7
Fiber: 3
Protein: 4
Low Carb Sausage Gravy with Carbsquik Biscuits
I wanted everyone to get a REAL view of what the Carbquik biscuits REALLY look like and not a doctored "food stylists" version. They don't puff up much and I followed a recipe and they recommended a certain amount of time and it was TOO long. They could have been LESS done for my taste. Also next time (and I will update at the bottom of this blog when I do it) I will use Baking POWDER rather than the baking soda that was recommended.
Overall I couldn't believe I was eating a REAL biscuit. I was in heaven. Seriously, I haven't had a biscuit in a LONGGGGGGG time. Mainly because my band does not tolerate it well, but this was dinner, so my band was looser, and honestly I should have eaten ONE less egg and biscuit and I would have had plenty to eat. Whoops - oh well, kind of a high calorie day. I did have some Jok n' Al Blueberry Jelly - I'll be giving a review of that soon! :o)
LC Sausage Gravy
1 pound Sausage - Jimmy Dean
2 cups 2% Calorie Countdown Milk
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons carbalose Flour
Crumble sausage and cook in large skillet over a medium heat, until browned. Mix in the flour until completely dissolved. Slowly, stir in milk then cook the gravy until it thickens and starts to bubble. Add some season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top biscuits with the hot gravy and serve. Place the leftovers in the refrigerator.
My husband who is a HUGE HUGE HUGE biscuit and gravy fan found this quite appetizing. OK, he liked it. He really did, I promise and I LOVED it!!! OMG, to eat a biscuit with jelly. I was in HEAVEN!!! Oh and the sausage gravy was delicious too!
1/2 cup serving:
Calories: 257
Fat: 23
Sat. Fat: 8
Carbs: 3
Fiber: 1
Protein: 10
CARBQUIK BISCUITS
2 cups carbquik - LC Baking Mix
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Preheat oven to 350. Place dry mix in mixer bowl. On low speed, slowly add liquid until dough forms. Do not overwork the dough (mine was rather crumbly so I squeezed it a bit).
Place on counter covered with light layer of Carbquik. Roll into a 1/2" thick sheet. But with 1/2" circles ( a glass worked fine for me). Place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with butter.
Bake for 15 minutes and check or until golden (watch them, they'll be golden inside and out if you cook too long). Brush with butter when done.
Yields 9 biscuits - 1 biscuit was:
Calories: 152
Fat: 11
Sat. Fat: 5
Carbs: 18
Fiber: 14 (wow what a fiber PUNCH)
Protein: 7
Szechuan Chicken
I took this from another low-carb website that I believe is no longer blogging/podcasting. I tweaked it myself and this is what I came out with:
Szechuan Chicken
4 each Chicken Breast - (like the kind you get in bags at Walmart - frozen but defrosted)
3 tablespoons almond meal
3 tablespoons coconut flour - Bobs Red Mill
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 drop liquid splenda
1/4 cup water
4 green onions, cut 1" long each
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (we are wimps when it comes to heat - but this wasn't even enough for a zing - I'd probably do more next time).
3 tablespoons coconut flour - Bobs Red Mill
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 drop liquid splenda
1/4 cup water
4 green onions, cut 1" long each
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (we are wimps when it comes to heat - but this wasn't even enough for a zing - I'd probably do more next time).
Cut the chicken into 1" cubes. Roll around in the mixed together almond meal (flour) and coconut flour. Heat up oil in pan. Cook chicken in oil until browned. Add the remaining ingredients and cook an additional 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. At the end stir in the cayenne and the green onions. Cook an additional 1-2minutes.
I served this over Dreamfields pasta (we just DON'T like the faux rice). You could serve this over brown rice if your carbs allowed for it. Or just eat it plain as well. It is NOT saucy. It's sort of pasty. Reminds me of a peanut butter sauce (not in taste - but texture). I liked it and would give it a 6 - my husband gave it a 4. That means "dear I appreciate the effort but don't make this again- hey how about a hamburger instead?".
Nutritional Information for 4oz of meat with clinging sauce NO noodles are in this count:
Calories: 274
Fat: 14
Sat. Fat: 8
Carbs: 11
Fiber: 3
Protein: 27
LC Food Review - VitaMuffin VitaTops - Velvety Chocolate
Ok, so these are a bit on the pricey side (what LC thing isn't??). They were $18.00 for 1 dozen or $35.00 for 2 dozen, plus shipping. They are a pretty good size (2 oz). They do contain the dreaded Malitol, but I haven't had any problems with them (of course I only eat one every 2-3 days). They come in two flavors: Velvety Chocolate and Banana Nut Top. They both boast only 6 net carbs per muffin. There is NO high fructose corn syrup in them - actually NO regular sugar at all! They also contain Soy for those who need to know that information.
As for the Review:
I took their suggestion and I toasted it in my toaster oven. My husband and daughter tried them cold out of the package. My husband said it tasted like cardboard but was great to have something chocolate, my daughter pretty much spit out her bite and wouldn't finish it. Now I didn't try it cold so I can't remark on that and neither has tried them toasted, so my review is on a TOASTED VitaTop Velvet Chocolate. I will be purchasing the Banana Top this week and will review it sometime at a later date.
Ease of Use - 9 - you do have to be able to open a plastic package! LOL, but the reason I didn't give it a 10 was because you need to use a toaster oven to heat it up and I actually did burn myself getting it out! LOL So lame - I know!
Taste - 6 - I didn't really think it was that bad. Now I do smear cream cheese on the top of it. I couldn't eat these every single day. I think I'd get tired of it. It definitely has that "it's not a real muffin taste" - but I think it's pretty good anyways. Maybe I'm used to eating things that don't taste "normal" anymore. Who knows? I definitely think they're worth trying.
Band Friendly - 2 - This is going to definitely gum up in someones band and get stuck if you were you're rather snug. My band is fairly loose and I even have to be careful with these.
You can buy these here:
http://store.vitalicious.com/lowcafr.html
As for the Review:
I took their suggestion and I toasted it in my toaster oven. My husband and daughter tried them cold out of the package. My husband said it tasted like cardboard but was great to have something chocolate, my daughter pretty much spit out her bite and wouldn't finish it. Now I didn't try it cold so I can't remark on that and neither has tried them toasted, so my review is on a TOASTED VitaTop Velvet Chocolate. I will be purchasing the Banana Top this week and will review it sometime at a later date.
Ease of Use - 9 - you do have to be able to open a plastic package! LOL, but the reason I didn't give it a 10 was because you need to use a toaster oven to heat it up and I actually did burn myself getting it out! LOL So lame - I know!
Taste - 6 - I didn't really think it was that bad. Now I do smear cream cheese on the top of it. I couldn't eat these every single day. I think I'd get tired of it. It definitely has that "it's not a real muffin taste" - but I think it's pretty good anyways. Maybe I'm used to eating things that don't taste "normal" anymore. Who knows? I definitely think they're worth trying.
Band Friendly - 2 - This is going to definitely gum up in someones band and get stuck if you were you're rather snug. My band is fairly loose and I even have to be careful with these.
You can buy these here:
http://store.vitalicious.com/lowcafr.html
