Yes, I know, it has been a whole month since I posted last. I've been busy! I've been working mostly from my sister's house trying to watch her kids and mine and do my work at the same time. Money saving, to be sure, but nerve wracking as well.
Anyway, I've been doing really well. I bought jeans yesterday a size smaller! Yay! They are a tad tight but at the rate I am going they should feel great before long.
I am into my fourth month of eating essentially carb free. I thought I would get tired of it by now so therefore, commencing to eat a loaf of bread or a pie or something but not so! I am treating it like I would alcoholism or an extreme food allergy. I can't just have a little, I can't have any at all. That strategy seems to be working for me so I am going with it.
One of the most difficult issues for me is still snacking. Sure, I can have cheeses and salami, etc. but they are high in fat. Chips are right out. Vegetables and dips are good but you have to be careful about the dips, that they are not too high in fat. I have spoken before about pickles. Pickles are good. Pickles are tasty and spicy and satisfying. Pickles have no fat. Although some pickles contain sugar! Yes! Demon sugar. Not good.
I love bread and butter pickles, you know, the sweet cucumber slices that taste so awesome on sandwiches. Unfortunately those kind of pickles are loaded with sugar so I set out to find a way to make some at home that were just as tasty but not so carb heavy. I tweaked the recipe some to add some additional vegetables and the Splenda. I don't remember where I found the original recipe so I will send some "I'm sorry" vibes out to the internet. If I could remember, I would credit you, oh writer of easy and delicious pickle recipes.
Bread and Butter Mixed Vegetable Pickles
3 kirby cucumbers (about 1 lb.), trimmed and thickly sliced
1 small yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets
4 small carrots, quartered then cut into 3" lengths
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 1/4 cups white wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups Splenda
3 tsp. mustard seeds
3 tsp. celery seeds
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1. Put cucumbers, onions, carrots, cauliflower and salt into a large bowl and toss well. Add 3 cups ice cubes, cover bowl with plastic wrap, stir occasionally and refrigerate overnight.
2. Drain cucumbers and onions well, discarding the salty water; set aside.
Put vinegar, Splenda, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric into a very large
pot, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cucumber–
vegetable mixture and stir well. Allow liquid to return just to a boil. Stir several times
about 5 minutes then remove pot from heat. Transfer pickles and their liquid to a
large, clean plastic container. Set aside to let cool to room temperature, then cover
and refrigerate overnight. Serve pickles the next day or store for up to 1 week.
Delicious! You can eat these as much as you want and not feel guilty one bit. I chop them up and put them into salads, put a heaping chopped pile onto a bowl of chili with my fat free Greek yogurt. Of just eat them out of hand as a part of a deli tray.
Low carb does not mean snack-free.
Thank God. Amen.
