Pizza-tastic Chicken

One of the hardest things about going low carb/sugar-free has been the lack of pizza in my life. I honestly could eat pizza for every meal, every day, for the rest of my life and not get sick of it. But now that crust and I have broken up, I've had to find other means of getting that cheesy pepperoni goodness in my mouth. I've accomplished this in a couple different ways (which I'll eventually post) but this pizza-fied chicken is probably my favorite.

These are the ingredients you'll need:

2 Chicken breasts
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt
Pepper

3 thin slices mozzarella
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan
Marinara sauce (which I forgot to picture, sue me)
Pepperoni slices (I actually prefer to use turkey pepperoni, I just had some regular that I needed to use up when I made this)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay your two tenderized chicken breasts in a small baking dish that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, grated Parmesan, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon this mixture over the chicken and make sure everything is decently covered.

 

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until chicken is 95% cooked through. Remove from oven and lay those delicious looking slices of mozzarella on top of the chicken.

 

  

Bake for 10 more minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and the cheese is nice and gooey. Spoon a thin layer of marinara over the chicken and mozzarella, then top with pepperoni and the shredded Parmesan.

 

 

Place back in the oven for just a couple minutes until the toppings get warm and melty. The broiler works well for this as long as you watch it closely.

 

 

Now serve that cheesy, melty, gooey mess up with a big pile of vegetables and enjoy! Yum!!

 

 

 

Easy Lettuce Wraps

I feel like this is the laziest "recipe" ever, but people keep asking me what I'm eating so I guess I'll be posting more easy SFLC ideas!

But first a confession: I had a bunch of sugar last weekend. And by a bunch, I mean probably 1/4 of what I would have eaten in a sitting in the past. But after not having any for two months it felt like a ton. It tasted oh so good going down...(my sister made Butterfinger puppy chow, y'all)...but then I paid for it. I felt so incredibly sick. Pounding headache, upset stomach, all I wanted to do was lay in bed and slip into a coma. I may or may not have had this conversation with Lamar:

Yeah it was a nice cheat (aside from the wanting to die part), but it really just confirmed to me that I am doing the best thing for my body by getting rid of that junk on a daily basis.



Onto the lettuce wraps though!

These don't need a whole lot of explaining...basically I just take everything I would have put on my ex-bff white bread, and stuff it into a giant romaine leaf. My favorite easy combo is turkey, Havarti, tomato and avocado. The Havarti and avocado give the wraps enough creaminess that I don't feel the need to put dressing on them, but you just do whatever your little heart desires. I usually eat five big leaves stuffed full, and all for under 350 calories! They are so filling I don't even miss the chips or crackers I would have normally eaten with a sandwich.

Some good variations are BLT wraps, Club sandwich style wraps, Fajita style wraps, Asian chicken wraps, etc. The possibilities are pretty much endless folks.

There ya go! Happy low carb sugar-free lunch to you all!

SFLC Latte Fix

I guess this should be classified as more of a tip vs a recipe, but as Miley so eloquently put it: "It's my party I can do what I want."

Possibly second in line to my love of cheese is my love of espresso. (Lamar makes this list at some point, honest. Probably somewhere between pizza and wine, which are both super high up there so he should really feel privileged.)

Don't get me wrong, I love a good doppio espresso shot or a trusty Americano, but most of the time I crave a rich, creamy, velvety, vanilla latte. Which, if you drink them as they normally come, are LOADED with carbs and sugars. Vanilla lattes are more than just an occasional cheat/treat for me, so I had to figure out a sugar free low carb alternative. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I work a couple nights a week as a barista, so I had all kinds of equipment at my disposal with which to experiment. 

Half of the sugar-free part was easy. As far as I know 99.9% of Starbucks/coffee shops have a sugar-free vanilla syrup (usually caramel too, if that's your thing) which takes out a load of sugar right there. But we're still left with all the sugar and carbs that come from the milk. Surprisingly, skim is the worst offender. Followed by 2%, whole, then half and half.  While breve (half and half) lattes are delicious, 1 cup of cream still carries 10g carbs and a lot of calories. In my best estimation just a tall would have you at around 425 calories. Not something I want in my diet on an every other day basis.

*you're not really stupid

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus, I found the answer.  

Start by ordering a basic Americano (espresso + water). Ask your barista to add sugar-free vanilla syrup. (Side rant, seriously you don't need to specify the number of pumps. We know how much to put in each size to make it taste right, and ordering a certain number is just obnoxious.) Then ask for a couple inches of steamed half and half on top. 

While this doesn't taste exactly like a latte made entirely with milk, it is a pretty dang good mimic. Having the majority of the base as water saves loads of calories, but the steamed half and half still gives it that nice foamy layer and the creaminess that I crave. Plus, it's even cheaper than a regular latte and since it's ordered as an Americano you get an extra shot! What what!

Now go try it out! Any barista at any coffee joint will be able to accommodate your request. And as long as you don't answer our "How are you today?" with "Venti Americano" we won't hate you, and you'll end up with a delicious drink.

Nutrition*:

120 Calories 

3.9g Carbs

0g Sugar

*approximate counts depending on individual barista's interpretation of "a couple inches" 

Spinach and Feta Eggs and Bacon

Let me start my first entry with an apology for the terrible staging and picture quality below! I promise, it will get better. I was in a hurry this morning and really just wanted to get that food in my belly asap, so I made a 0% effort to make it look nice.

Moving on....

Eggs are one of my breakfast staples. They're fast, easy, low carb, good source of protein, and you can put just about anything in them depending on what you love. And if you only ever learn one thing about me let it be this: I love good cheese. Obsessed may be better descriptor. I'm not talking Kraft cheddar, flavorless and greasy. And I'm DEFINITELY not talking about pre-shredded cheese in bags covered in that weird waxy stuff. Seriously, barf. Life is too short for that. I mean delicious Parmesan, Vermont sharp cheddar and Gouda that come in huge blocks for me to grate myself. Big tubs of crumbled feta and hunks of gooey mozzarella....YUM. Nothing makes me more excited. That whole tangent to say, I put cheese in everything, and these eggs were no exception.

 

 

 

Spinach and Feta Eggs

 

(Seriously, zoom in and see how delicious they look despite the crappy picture)

 

2 Large Eggs

2 Tablespoons Frozen Spinach (thawed)

1 Generous Tablespoon Crumbled Feta

Splash of Half and Half (approx 1-2 teaspoons)

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Cooking Spray

Lower Sugar Ketchup or Hot Sauce (optional)

 

 

Whisk together eggs, spinach, feta, cream, salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick cooking pan and spray lightly with cooking spray. Quickly dump egg mixture in and stir frequently until cooked through. Easy peasy.

 

As far as the bacon goes, I know most people have their own methods of cooking it. I find that the easiest way is baking. That way I don't have to monitor two different pans or get hot bacon grease splashed on me. Plus it comes out looking prettier. :)

 

Perfect Bacon

 

Preheat oven to 365 degrees. Run three strips of bacon under cold water (you know that weird Pinterest tip? Yeah it totally works) and lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes (give or take, depending how chewy/crispy you prefer).

 

I usually do this before I start doing anything on my eggs, that way they're done at around the same time.

 

And that's it! Simple and quick, no sugar low carb yummy breakfast.

 

Nutrition*:

 

305 Calories (for whole breakfast as described)

1.9g Net Carbs

1.3g Naturally Occurring Sugar

 

 

*these are based on my findings. Be sure to check your own labels for the most accurate counts.