Saturday, October 30, 2010

Demon Eyes Deviled Eggs

Last year our family started a Halloween tradition. As you know we don't really celebrate Halloween here in the Philippines. No pumpkins, no Trick or Treat, no costumes. But in recent years the Halloween trend finally caught up and now we see all those stuff in the stores. So last year we decided to throw a party and everyone had costumes. It was so much fun! I went as Hannah Montana and The Hubby went as... well he won't appreciate it if I tell you. However, he won Best Costume last year.


 


So today we're going to have our party again. Our theme is Plants Vs. Zombies. I will be dressed as the sea-shroom and once I have pics I will post whether you like it or not. Hahaha! Anyway, I thought I would bring pizza to the party but I realized it wouldn't be LC-friendly so I settled for something LC, fun and easy to make!


 


Check out my "Demon Eyes" Deviled Eggs!



 



I was inspired by Heather's post on her wonderful blog The Rogue Cookie. Hers look even more devilish! I have no LC ketchup and I think I will make a horrible mess making squiggly lines. Thanks Heather for this great tip!


Happy Halloween everyone!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Spongebob's Flax Muffin/Bread LowCarbPinay Way

My love affair with flax meal continues. I don't think it will ever stop. I keep looking for recipes to use it while keeping the carb count low. I really enjoy this ingredient and after having the guts to try spongebob's recipe, I can finally bake once a week and have enough bread for at least seven days!


If you think going low carb means you have to give up that delicious sensation of butter melting into warm bread, then you're dead wrong. This recipe does the trick for me. I love how versatile it is. Use a muffin top and it's a muffin recipe. Use a loaf pan and you have loaves! Use a bundt cake pan and viola! You got cake!



The original recipe can be found here but it has some ingredients that I can't find locally so I tweaked it for my use. I skipped the nuts and the sugar free syrup.


Tweaked Flax Muffin/Bread Recipe


Dry


2 cups flax meal (I use regular and I like it.)


1/2 cup Splenda, granulated


1/4 t Stevia powder OR 1/2 cup Splenda (carb count will be higher if you do Splenda)


1 tsp baking powder


1 tsp baking soda


Wet


5 eggs


8 T water


5 T butter, melted


1 t worth of flavoring extract (I've used banana and vanilla so far)


Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pan by greasing well. I use a pastry brush to generously grease pans with butter.


2. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or measuring cup-- I like the lip, it helps me avoid spilling because I am klutz, pour the eggs and beat well. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients. Make sure that the eggs are well-beaten.


3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until well-blended. Portion into muffin/loaf pan. I use an ice cream scooper.


4. Bake until toothpick comes out clean. For muffins it's usually 8 to 10 minutes. For mini loaves 12 to 15, depending on how hot your oven runs.


Storing


You can wrap each loaf with cling wrap and store in a storage bag and put in the fridge. It can probably last awhile in the fridge but... it never lasts around here as I am always eating it.


Variations


To eat, nuke for a few seconds, spread with butter or cream cheese. I've made french toast with this, topped with sugar free maple syrup and cinnamon and butter. You can add nuts, different extracts, dried fruit, everything but the kitchen sink. Enjoy!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Double Chocolate Cashew Cookies (Video)

Hey everyone! This is my first time to make a video, I've always wanted to make one but never had the patience to. So, please forgive me if this is boring.

Here's the recipe:



Double Chocolate Cashew Cookies

200 g cashews

2 eggs

6 t Splenda, granulated

6 scoops Stevia powder

1 oz dark chocolate, chopped (Ghirardelli 72%)

1 oz SF milk chocolate, chopped (Use whatever SF chocolate you like, this is my favorite)

1 to 2 T butter, room temperature

pinch of salt

Directions can be found in the video. Here it is... please be kind heehee







Would you like more videos like this? Albeit with better shots, narration and editing? BTW, I used my phone to take the pic above and the video. Let me know!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Green Bean "Lasagna"

When I first saw this recipe I told myself not to expect it to be just like the high carb lasagna. I'm glad I did because I wouldn't mistake this for the "real thing". However, this was a pretty great recipe if judged by its own merit. I never would've thought that green beans would taste good with cheese, although how could I not? Cheese, much like butter and bacon, makes everything taste better. This was very delicious. I only made one layer so it wasn't thick and as filling. If you do it this way, you can have this as a side dish with maybe a piece of steak for a main.



The recipe can be found here and it was created by LCF member heidihoopi. The only tweak I did was to use our local green bean which I believe is called snake beans in English, sitaw in Filipino and latoy in Ilonggo. I used four bunches, cut them in half and kept them relatively long. Then I blanched them in salted water until they were soft.



I was pleasantly surprised by how good this dish was and it heats up beautifully in the microwave. The taste does remind me of lasagna because of the sauce and the cheese but don't expect the texture to be the same as the real version. Hope you like this recipe as much as I did and thanks heidihoopi!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Back To Low Carb Reality

So my week of debauchery is over and it's time to get back on the low carb wagon and stay there, hopefully enjoying the ride and scenery. I really had a great time during my vacation but the fact that I am deathly afraid of my scale tells me I overdid it. It wasn't like the trip to Singapore, no. Since food was cheap and in abundance, I went a tad overboard with the sweets and dessert and frozen yogurt at Red Mango.


The first day back on plan was difficult. In fact, I wasn't 100% on plan. I had some oatmeal cookies that my hubby bought. I know. I am so bad! But I couldn't resist it. So I had one. Then two. Then three. It turned out to be six by the end of the day. I deserve a spanking, I know this.


Day two was much better since I started adding flax back to my diet again. I love flax and flax muffins and it keeps me "regular" but darn it... I don't like the "by product", neither does my husband. I don't blame him. Flax "by products" are the worst I've ever experienced in my life. Seriously. It could win national competitions and probably power a stove. But I will still do it because it really helps with my digestion... Maybe once my body is used to it again the "by product" will decrease and won't be as offensive. I also felt terribly bloaty and had tummy issues but that's just my body getting used to low carb.


It is now Day Three and I'm 100% back on the saddle, my friends! Can I get a woohoo? A what-what? Perhaps a small but well-deserved 'yay'? Pretty please? I'm just kidding. Day Three wasn't as difficult, of course. I take it one day at a time and it really does get better.


In other news, I finally received the package from my LCF buddy Melissa of "Less Of Mimi". More than a month ago I asked her if she could buy and ship golden flax seeds and stevia powder for me. She was so kind and generous that she went to buy it that same day and ship it, too! When the package finally arrived, the envelop was torn in places and taped in some. Sheesh! Our postal service is really crappy! But thank goodness the flax seeds and stevia made it here in their packaging. So double yay for me. Thanks again Melissa! You are such a sweetie... sugar free, of course, but a sweetie nonetheless!

Friday, October 8, 2010

32 Rib Eye Steaks

The best birthday gift ever. Today was my birthday and the fifth day of eating off-plan but to prove that I do wanna go back on eating LC the moment we get back home let me tell you about 32 beautiful, marbled, juicy rib eye steaks.


We got them today at Melbourne Prime. They're frozen and will be shipped back to Roxas City tomorrow and will probably get there by the time our flight lands on Sunday. I am ecstatic! This steak is so delicious and definitely my favorite.


So thanks to my darling hubby for giving me this birthday gift!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Low Carb Pinay in Manila

So my birthday week celebration started with a flight to Manila. It was DH's birthday and we spent the day doing things he liked. Had a Mexican dinner and ate yogurt at Red Mango. Totally an off-plan vacation but still bought Pepsi Max just because it's so yummy.


Day Two just began and we had Taco Bell (I'm not impressed though) but DH is pretty happy. It's his taste of home, I guess. We began the visa process today and keeping our fingers crossed. who knows by this time next year I would be Low Carb Pinay in the US. Wish us luck!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Moving the Blog and Birthday!

Hello! I'm moving this blog over to wordpress. I like the look of the blogs over there.
Anyway, it is currently under construction but I'm going away for a birthday week celebration so I won't be able to work on it for awhile.

I am turning 30 on Friday and Dh and I have planned a trip together. To get away from it all. I am going to be eating off-plan but I hope getting back to eating LC will be easier this time around. so far I have lost 25 lbs since I started, averaging a loss of 1 lb/week since I started. It's not so bad. I'm also REALLY gonna start being active. REALLY.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you on my new blog!

The New Low Carb Pinay blog!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Monster Bacon and Egg Sandwich





For dinner tonight I made bacon and egg sandwich on flax bread. I used the One Minute Muffin recipe but added garlic and onion powder to the dry ingredients and skipped the cinnamon altogether. Half the recipe was nuked first to make one "slice of bread" and the other was nuked afterwards.  Then I fried up four strips of bacon and scrambled two eggs, toasted my "bread" slices after slathering them with butter and built my monster sandwich.



It is huge. It is greasy. It is messy. It is delicious.


I take one bite and bacon grease would cling to my lips and fingers. Thank goodness for wax paper and paper towels! But it was definitely worth it. I doubt I look sexy as I cram as much of the sandwich as I could in my mouth without any of the filling falling out but who cares about sexy eating? I certainly don't. Neither should you.