Low Carb Happy @ 6 Months

Well, here we are at the 6-month point and we're still going StRoNg!  Meaning this is something we can live with and trust.  Mark is feeling much much better and we're looking forward to new lab work in a couple of months.  It's certainly a different feeling to be looking forward to getting lab work done rather than dreading it as we have for so many years!

I've lost 45 pounds in this six months.  Some people lose much more quickly than this, but I'm averaging a 6 pound loss a month these days.  Six pounds a month at 60 years old--I'm so thankful to have finally learned that grains, potatoes, and sugar (GPS as Dr Hallberg says) are the culprits and that we only needed the right information and the right support in order to lose weight and heal our blood sugars and feel so much better. 

 I have to say thank you to my mama & sister who were so supportive during my visit this month.  In past visits, we were all into cake & pie & pasta & bread and well, you get the picture. . . But we had a great visit even without the bad carbs, which again helped me learn that going low-carb  actually means eating lots of full-fat healthy foods, not being hungry, and feeling satisfied and happy--not deprived! I even lost a pound while I was there on vacation! 

PJ made this wonderful loaded cauliflower casserole.  Mama made a yummy almond flour biscuit and Jeff grilled hot wings for us. And did I mention the fresh strawberries from Peggy's u-pick farm??  

Let's see, what else have we been eating? Fathead pizza is one of my favorites.  Yes, pizza! No, they don't deliver it from Antonio's--unfortunately, but maybe one day??  Actually, someone should talk to them about that.  Anyway, until Antonio's finds their way to low-carb, fathead is easy to put together and well worth the effort.

This is what I've been ordering when I go to Starbucks:

And this lemon cloud pie was a hit!

For the recipes, check out my pinterest low-carb board.  If you explore Pinterest, there's an endless supply of low-carb recipes--pretty much anything we want to eat, there's a way to make it low-carb.  

For those of you who have joined me in this low-carb way of eating, thank you so much!  It makes me happy to hear about your successes, your weight loss, your lowered blood sugar numbers, your new-found energy.  You help me keep going too!

If you're interested in knowing more about low-carb, check out those facebook groups Ketogenic Success and Low Carb & Losing It Original Group.  There's a mother-lode of support, inspiration & hope that will show up in your news feed.  And if you have questions or need help getting started, get in touch with me and let's talk. We can do this!

Michigan June

A few pictures from the birthday celebration in Michigan:

Not one, but TwO birthday cakes :)

Where's Ray??

Rachel posted this sweet birthday message

My mama has been urban gardening ever since she was transplanted to Michigan 40+ years ago.  It's amazing to see how many vegetables & flowers she can grow on her little plot.  The strawberries were delicious!  They were my splurge instead of cake this year.  

 If we look a little sad here, it's because we were saying good-bye.  It's always hard to leave.  Time to plan the next visit!

Visit The Farm

Raised bed of Kent Beauty Oregano

What to do when you're upset about something you can't do a thing about?  Visit The Farm, of course!  The garden is gorgeous this year.  And then the world is right again.   

Coral and peach begonias--they don't look real!

Bear's breechees in bud

A Thank You to Bernie

You know, I may have mentioned politics on this blog before, but I really can't remember when.  In over 2000 posts, I have stuck to things that make me happy like flowers and my grandchildren and golden retrievers who love me and the garden.  But today, I just want to say:  thank you  Bernie Sanders. 

When I was a teenager, I remember talking to my mom one night when she was working on her taxes.  She told me to always check the box to contribute $1 to the presidential campaign because "it's there so that one day a poor man can become president".  I checked that box for a lot of years.  But I haven't checked it in a long time because. . . well, who believes that anymore?  And then Bernie came along.  I've never given money to a political campaign before, but I gave a few of those $27 contributions to him. 

And I may give him another $27 today.  Yes, today, even after Hillary's  speech about being the first woman presidential candidate and her touching tribute to her mother.  Bernie may not get the nomination, but here's the thing.  Bernie's input was all over her speech.  If he hadn't run with his message of social justice, she wouldn't have said a lot of things that she said in that speech.  I hope she means them.  I'm not convinced, but I sure hope so.

I don't have much patience for those who keep saying Bernie should withdraw right now because he's hurting the country if he doesn't.  Bull hockey.  He's still fighting for social justice. And as Hillary said--though I'm sure it must have taken some intestinal fortitude for her to admit it--his fight is good for America.  

I liked his message from the first time I heard it.  But then he said "When you hurt, I hurt.  When your children hurt, I hurt.  That's my religion". . . Well  that's  the kind of president I'd like to have.  That's the kind of world I want to live in.  

I trust Bernie to get out  when the time is right.  He said he'd stay with it til every vote was counted and through the convention.  I don't expect him to get out before he's squeezed out every last bit of progress that can possibly be made towards the goals he has been so tirelessly sharing with us.

Thank you Senator Sanders, for fighting this fight for me, for my children, for Betsy & Kyle.  And for those of you who follow me here at this little spot on the blogging world, we'll get back to low carb & flowers real soon.    Now where's that e-mail with the 'contribute now' button?

We've Been Cooking

Layer of chorizo with two eggs sprinkled with melting cheese and baked. Mark gave this one two thumbs up.

Layers of ground beef,  no-sugar added pizza or spaghetti sauce,  mozzarella cheese, and topped with pepperoni. 

Soul Bread--it was really good just out of the oven with butter and then later toasted with cinnamon-swerve-butter. And pretty good for a grilled cheese "sandwich".

Cashew waffles--still our favorite.

And a picture of Bets & Kyle with their strawberry harvest!  While we might not be eating pie these days, a few strawberries fresh from the garden with the grandkids sounds like a perfect food plan :)